Episode 105
Diana Lane:
Ancient Wisdom in Modern Healthcare: The Potential for Integrating Traditional Practices with Diana Lane
In today's episode, I am joined by Diana Lane, a self-care specialist, integrative medicine practitioner, and holistic health expert. She talks about the importance of addressing lifestyle changes and modifications to prevent health problems before they escalate.
First Aired on: Sep 18, 2023
Episode 105
Diana Lane:
Ancient Wisdom in Modern Healthcare: The Potential for Integrating Traditional Practices with Diana Lane
In today's episode, I am joined by Diana Lane, a self-care specialist, integrative medicine practitioner, and holistic health expert. She talks about the importance of addressing lifestyle changes and modifications to prevent health problems before they escalate.
First Aired on: Sep 18, 2023
Table of Contents:
In this episode:
The Journey of Diana Lane
- Diana's early passion for becoming a cardiac surgeon.
- Her realization of the limitations within the Western medical system.
- Transitioning to integrative medicine and focusing on preventative measures.
Combining East and West
- Addressing health problems before they escalate through lifestyle modifications.
- The increasing validation of ancient practices such as acupuncture.
Foundational Components of Healing
- The critical importance of movement, nutrition, water, sleep, and breath.
- Functional panels to assess health levels.
- The challenges within the Western medical system and the need for holistic answers.
Understanding Traditional Practices
- Embracing acupuncture and herbal medicine as effective healing methods.
- The need for practitioners to understand potential herb-drug interactions.
Building Blocks of Self-care
- Prioritizing nutrition, sleep, and hydration.
- The concept of "self-care stacking" and the importance of enjoying wellness activities.
Beware of Environmental Toxins
- The harmful impacts of endocrine disruptors, toxic fragrances, and even dental fillings.
- Encouraging personal responsibility for a healthier environment.
Opting for Quality Foods
- The benefits of grass-fed, free-range meats and organic fruits and vegetables.
- Recommendations for reducing processed foods and finding healthier dairy alternatives.
Investing in Health
- Opting for quality, unprocessed food alternatives.
- The hidden costs of compromising on food quality.
- Tuning into our body's signals for a deeper understanding of our health.
Navigating the Midday Slump
- Understanding the common slump post-lunch and ways to improve energy levels.
Other Resources:
Connect with Diana Lane
Episode Transcript
Julie Michelson: [00:00:00] Welcome back to the Inspired Living with Autoimmunity podcast. I'm your host, Julie Michelson, and today we are joined by Diana Lane, and we're talking about the foundational components of whole body healing. Diana is a self care specialist, integrative medicine practitioner, and holistic health expert specializing in women's wellness, practicing in Austin, Texas.
In today's [00:01:00] conversation, we are talking about the perfect blend of science and woo. Diana gives us tips on essential steps for wellness, as well as how to avoid the common roadblocks that are detrimental to health. Diana, welcome to the podcast.
Diana Lane: Great. Thanks so much, Julie. I'm excited to be here.
Julie Michelson: I am so excited to, to learn about your transition into this beautiful world you've created with integration and acupuncture and science and Wu as somebody that I believe your story shifted as you were pre med cardiac surgeon. Is that where you were originally headed?
Diana Lane: You know, it started with that journey of self and soul. I wanted to help the world by healing hearts. I had been a ballerina when I was young and was 16 with multiple eating disorders. super unhealthy, [00:02:00] hating my body and my life and was wondering how I could do it different. I got into nutrition, which was the low hanging fruit, right?
The segue into like, okay, what else is possible? And then when I got into pre med, it was so apparent that I just wanted to really help people heal. And I was. Yeah. In undergrad, you know, we specialize pretty early. Like obviously I wasn't like a heart surgeon, but I was in that specialization field getting ready to drop into U Dub's program, which is a really extensive pre med program.
I was in my cardiothoracic rehab internship up at St. David's and I could just see how broken the system was. I saw people getting worse and not better. I saw them coming in, throwing out McDonald's cups, like two weeks after a heart attack.
Julie Michelson: Oh, gosh.
Diana Lane: booze and cigarettes. And I'm just like, is this the way? And as per my nature, I asked a lot of questions.
Well, like, can I talk to them about this? Like, what about encouraging water? What about lifestyle changes [00:03:00] and modifications? And more or less, they were kind of like, look, that's not your job here. You want to get them on the machines, take their vitals, make sure they're taking their prescriptions and That led me to ask even more questions in this internship.
I know. I'm like, well, how often are they coming back?
Julie Michelson: you. Not.
Diana Lane: man. I was that troublemaker. Sorry for asking too many good questions. Doctors love me now too.
Julie Michelson: Huh. Well, we need that. I
Diana Lane: Yeah. I mean, I just had to wonder like, are people, how, what's the return rate? What is life expectancy? And It just hurt my heart, no pun intended, to feel so helpless in a system that's more or less end of life care. And so I've called my mom on the way home like, this is not it. How can I create change?
How can I help people? Before they get to this point. And so I said, wait, I said, I jumped ship to the east [00:04:00] side, ditched my application to the University of Washington. Great school would have been an amazing program. And I went to evergreen for a couple semesters and started taking these really interesting integrative courses that were like intro to holistic studies and.
I looked into everything. I mean, I'm telling you, Ayurveda, naturopathy, chiropractic, physical therapy, OT, trying to figure out what was the Tao, what was the path. And Chinese medicine fell into my lap and it was so obvious. It was like everything just clicked in my system. The more I learned, the more it made sense.
So comprehensive. But I'm still a science nerd at heart. I love running labs. I love working with the medical field in the western world and empowering my patients to ask the right questions to get those labs so we can look at functional levels and to really be that path to the future of medicine where integration is the key.
Julie Michelson: love it. And this is, this is the change, [00:05:00] right? You are the change. And I know the work you're doing is. Is just amazing. And you still, I love that balance. I'm, I'm such a geek as well. I'm a data geek. And I, I'm always when I'm working with somebody, it's always about feeling better. Like that's the target, right?
Life is big and full and wonderful as it can be. But I love seeing markers change on those functional panels so that we know it's like, yeah, yeah, actually the, you know, it all ties together and they all show the same things. So I, I just think that that's incredible. I'm always blown away. And especially for you, so many people it's because they got sick in medical school or residency, whatever.
You know, Western medicine wasn't helping. And so they searched. So, but you just had this brilliance of like, Nope, you knew you needed better [00:06:00] answers to those good questions,
Diana Lane: I couldn't even imagine, you know, going through COVID and everything we've been through the past couple of years, like, you know, that ghost of Christmas past, like, what if, what if I had to take in that route? At what point would I have woken up and been like, Oh, I can't do this anymore?
Julie Michelson: right? Right. Well, and thank, and it probably would have ended up in some kind of manifestation for you personally, if you weren't living your true calling. So I'm just excited that you're doing what you're doing and you do it with. Such love in your heart. No, no, I've, it's, I always enjoy learning from you and listening to you and, and for people that are able to watch this on video.
I mean, it just, you just radiate. So, so thank you for sharing that. With everybody. So I want to dive into your what I would consider and the word is so [00:07:00] overused and misunderstood but truly holistic whole being approach. I want to talk about healing because that's what listeners are wanting to listen to.
You know, and I know that you have, you're very intentional about. The, the foundational components to whole body healing to true, which is just true healing, right? If we just fix one thing, we're not healing. So what are those components?
Diana Lane: You know, there's the basics. I think you'll hear this time and time again, you've probably heard it throughout this series and we'll hear it on many, many others that there are foundational things that everybody can and would benefit from doing moving your body, getting time in nature, drinking high quality, non fluoridated spring water, eating nutritious, whole foods that are organic and high quality grass fed free range meats.
Right. Getting sleep and mindfulness. These are all the foundational [00:08:00] things that everybody could, should, and hopefully will be practicing in their lives. I was super impressed. I recently went to a new primary care doctor and she even had five foundations that included movement and nutrition and water and sleep and breath.
Right. These are the things that are the most comprehensive. And... There's no one right way or only way to heal. So I am a big fan of having a healing team as an acupuncturist and functional medicine practitioner. There's so much that I can support on. And I'm like, have a therapist, have a massage therapist, go and see a Western medical doctor, get your pap smears.
Maybe don't get as many mammograms, but there are so many things that we need to incorporate into this holistic and whole body healing. So I think. fusion here is really the key. Like you said, it's about people feeling well and sometimes Sometimes [00:09:00] that could even mean pharmaceuticals. Now, obviously you want to be mindful of bite effects, right?
The over prescriptions are a big thing. Not everybody needs everything because there are interventions, right? There are things that we could do ahead of time to avoid needing the statins and the blood pressure medications and all the things that can be modified. If we talk about those foundations, if we bring in herbs and supplements, I'm If we utilize multi modality healing, and I think that really is the key is like, what can we do to healthcare stack and self care stack and what can we do to really avoid the detrimental things that are pills for side effects of side effects and surgeries that may or may not actually do the trick or these experimental, you know, neuromodulators that aren't really always helping and most the time make things worse.
So let's get to the core, right? Let's get to the foundation and really help people heal both from the inside out and. [00:10:00] The outside in, right? Because there's a lot of stuff around us that we're drinking, putting on our bodies, smelling, that are really toxic and can be attributing to these long term diseases.
Other things like metals. Are there metals in your mouth? That's like the number one source of disease right now is these old school mercury fillings and these things that are really, really toxic for us long term.
Julie Michelson: Wow, you've hit on so many things that drove my 11 years of decline. And I wanted, you know, the ideal and I am excited. I don't know that it will be in my lifetime, but for a time when true prevention, all of those things that you just said, right. Creating that change or just create having that lifestyle and preventing the need for statins and all the things but also the beautiful thing because the body is amazing and can heal is [00:11:00] we can get off of those things.
We can still get to that root core and have that great foundation. And so I just love. That's what's so exciting to me. I joke, people ask, you know, who do you really love to work with? And I'm like, I really love helping people who've, you know, maybe got five autoimmune diagnoses, you know, heal, truly heal and get better, but I also really love the That kind of, and I know the word is overused, but biohacker mindset, or, you know, the people that are like, no, I'm good.
And I want to be better. And I want to stay better. And those are really, those are my two, like, yes, let's do this. So that's it's just amazing that. But you know, I look at you and I, and I know you're an adult, but you look so young,
Diana Lane: So you need
Julie Michelson: so wise, so early. And, and I, I do, I love that you bring up this idea [00:12:00] of team especially as somebody who loves, you know, I, I know results, the best results happen the quickest when people have a team and, and, and you pointed out everybody's team may look different.
Yeah. So and we're not throwing, we're not excluding anybody from the team and we're not throwing anybody under the bus. And so I just, I think we're, we're so aligned in approach that, that I, I just, just really that, and your blend of the Chinese and the science and, and, and to me, like, and I get it, people, I think Chinese medicine is, I mean, it is.
That's where it all started, right? And I think there's, there's more and more and more science, you know, because we like to see that data. It's like, Oh, we're just figuring this stuff out. And it's like, yeah, but they've been doing it for thousands of years. And now, and [00:13:00] now, and now, you know, we're like, Oh, this is a great idea.
It's like quantum physics,
Diana Lane: what I love is that science is really starting to catch up to this ancient medicine, you know, like cheat and ATP are the same thing. Anemia and blood deficiency, the same thing. And now that we can actually prove the existence of meridians and acupuncture points, and even the VA is doing some really high level peer reviewed double blind research studies on acupuncture, it's like Welcome.
I'm glad everybody's catching up in the modern world. You know, this medicine withstood the fall of the Chinese empire for a reason. And now when you go to China, like you go straight, like you have a stroke, you get through the stroke, you're stabilized. They send you directly to the acupuncture ward for the rest of your healing because it's so effective.
When you go down to the pharmacy to pick up your prescriptions, you pick up your herbs right at the next window. [00:14:00] So this I think will be the future of medicine. Hopefully sooner rather than later.
Julie Michelson: I love that. And like, essential to highlight that that's where that team that care team that really know, you know, an integrated care team comes into play because like, you don't want to be on prescriptions and herbs and without somebody know what you're on and how they play together and. I think we're in that time where people, you know, read stuff, and I want to try this, and I want to try that, and oh, this worked for her, I'll try that.
And that's where having somebody like Diana is essential, so to really make sure that, that sometimes we're trying to help ourselves, and we end up doing the wrong things.
Diana Lane: You know, fortunately, we're also taught western pharmacology. Like when I went to Eastern Medical School, it was still medical school. There was a biomed component. There is a pharmacology component. And we learn about herb drug interactions. [00:15:00] Fortunately, there's not a ton of them unless you're using something like futsa, which is aconite, which is a very precious and cautiously used herb.
But you know, taking them apart from each other, there's actually a lot of herbs and supplements you can take that can help the side effects of some of these western pharmaceuticals. But it is important to be aware of the rare but potential for herb drug interactions for sure,
Julie Michelson: Yeah. Which is again, just where I'm like, you know, like you are trained, you know, Google is not a teacher. So don't like really, cause I just see so, so much of or another thing, you know, we use a lot of supplements. People ask me all the time, you know, what supplement should everybody be on? I'm like, I don't know.
Let me see their labs. There is that we're all different and and at different times and so it's like well, let's see what you know What do you really need? And I've had so many people like oh, I I don't know. I'm just I don't that seems like a lot of stuff I don't want to take [00:16:00] that and and then I find out it's because they're taking 20 other things that they Read about over the past two years that might be helpful.
And I'm like, okay, what if we pause the stuff that isn't showing you have a need for right now and actually support your body where it needs it. So I, I just, I love that. You had that again. Just full spectrum of science and woo and, and the more I learn about what I used to think is woo is again, again, just goes back to, no, that's just science.
We just don't have the double blind studies yet.
Diana Lane: right? You know, and that's changing. I really love, you know, like I said, I'm a research nerd seeing the way they're starting to utilize these techniques and, and really getting precise, right? Like there were a bunch of studies where they were comparing acupuncture to sham acupuncture. Now, what sham acupuncture was, was them still like using a toothpick [00:17:00] to stimulate the point.
But maybe not inserting the needle all the way. And guess what? You're still stimulating the point. So now studies are starting to utilize like no intervention sham acupuncture and acupuncture and or other controls that make it really precise. And you'll see more and more of this in the future.
Julie Michelson: which is exciting. And I think, you know, we're talking specifically acupuncture and Chinese medicine, but, but even just functional medicine in general, I mean, that is, there, there is not a lot of data, even things that we're like, we not like we know. And there are studies you can pull together, but, you know, we know you need to move and you need sunlight and clean water and good, you know, real good food and all the things.
And I want to dig in a little more to those foundations, because I think there's almost 2 sides of the spectrum of, like, Oh, I roll again. It's the same. [00:18:00] It's movement and sleep and toxic. You know, everybody's always saying that. And that's a lot, right? It's like either so boring because I've heard it so many times or like, that's overwhelming.
So of the, the, and they are all essential and they all work together, just like our body systems. Like there's not any isolated body system. Where, where do you think is essential for people to start like maybe they are eating McDonald's and I mean, I don't know, I would love to pull my listeners and see, or do I even have listeners that are still eating McDonald's?
Gosh, I hope not. Please stop. But aside from that, like, of, of them, you know, where do you see Start because I always feel like, you know, we need to create a little momentum, right? Nobody's gonna go from zero to a hundred overnight and sustain it. So like, is there, [00:19:00] is there a hierarchy in your book or, or a starting place?
Diana Lane: that's a great question. One of the things I teach a lot of my patients is about self care stacking, right? There's ways to make these things joyful. I definitely think if you're not getting adequate nutrition, Sleep and hydration like those above everything else because it's going to be much harder to go out and move or feel inclined and motivated to do those things if your brain is inflamed from eating a bunch of gluten or McDonald's or whatever that is or if you're Exhausted and dehydrated because you haven't been sleeping and drinking enough water.
So I would say those are like the trifecta FECTA foundation for the rest of the things and then everything else kind of comes together, right? Getting time outside in nature, breathing, listening to binaural beats is one thing you can do in 20 minutes, right? And if you have adequate sleep and hydration and enough fuel, it's going to be a lot [00:20:00] easier to self care stack some of these other things.
With sleep. You know, there are things that need to be moderated and modified in order to get deep sleep. That includes a dark, quiet, safe place to be sleeping, where maybe your animals also are trained to sleep well with you or things like that, because these little cofactors can really disrupt the rest of the human ecosystem, right?
Sleep is a foundation for everything else, but so is nutrition and Adequate spring water that's not housed in plastic bottles that does not have fluoride in it, right? Those things are all inflammatory for the brain. And if your system as a foundation is rocked and not getting what it needs, of course, you're not going to want to go and find joyful movement or do things that are going to further nourish the rest of your longevity.
Julie Michelson: I love that. And I love your, your self care stacking. I know we've spoken in a, [00:21:00] in a different location about you know, the whole, like doing, doing the things outside, right? So once you're getting outside and you're maybe using binaural beats and you're doing your breathing, well, then, you know, go for a little hike or a walk or, you know, add in that movement.
And you're just, you're just getting this hit or. Don't even do that. Maybe take your shoes off and stand. There's just so many ways. And I love that you keep touching on joyful. Because I, I think that, that it is essential. It's I think a missing piece of wellness. Is joyfulness and if you're going to, to try to improve your foundation and you're thinking of it as a chore, it's not serving you.
I mean, you're not going to do it for long. And so I love the, the idea of joyful movement because I am somebody, I just sent an email out this week, like confessing, I don't like working out in a gym. [00:22:00] I don't, that's, you are not going to find me working out in a gym. I move hay bales. I hand pump, you know I was, I was paddleboarding yesterday.
So the night before I was hand pumping, it was kind of, it was like, my friend was like, you don't have a pump. And I'm like, it never even occurred. This is a great workout. It was like 96 degrees. And we were like, you know, and I live at altitude. So but whatever that joyful movement is like, that's the way like it's.
The, the stuff you want to do. And yes, I have equipment. I work out at home. I'm not saying don't ever work. I'm saying find, I have friends that love going to the gym. My daughter loves going to the gym. My son, one of my sons love it. Like great, do it fine. Find the thing and just keep changing it up to, till you find the things.
So I love that
Diana Lane: it a lot easier to implement if you do it that way. You know, [00:23:00] I don't call things routines anymore. I call them rituals because who wants a routine? I mean people might like the structure of routine, but ritual makes it feel really cohesive with my body. I'm like, Ooh, yes. It's a ritual,
Julie Michelson: and I could feel that word when you said it and I what I was thinking was some and I do, you know, kids thrive on routine like I think as humans, in a sense, yes, we need routine, but often routines are important. Thank you. Not supportive, right? Like, you know, I know a lot of people that will have a drink when they get home from work.
That's their routine. It doesn't mean like I don't think their body would find that a ritual, right? So I love my heart. Could I just had this like expansion when you said ritual. So I'm I'm going to be would be stealing that one. I will credit you.
Diana Lane: Love it.
Julie Michelson: So we, we touched on the, these [00:24:00] essential foundations and they are, and it's so funny because back to kind of that biohacking mentality, you know, everybody wants the quick hit or the cool thing or the fancy workout equipment or the, and to start with, are you sleeping?
Are you drinking? Are you, you know, like we tend to overlook that sometimes. And so I, I, I think it can't be. Talked about enough. So these are the things we need for healing. What are some of the most detrimental things that are negatively impacting health and wellness? Like, what are you, what's, what's showing up at your door?
What are you seeing as these kind of drivers? And you mentioned some,
Diana Lane: Yeah. You know, we live in a society where we're definitely quick fix motivated. And the other big thing that's happening is. Slowly transitioning out of but over the last decade or so is this mindset of hustle culture, you know, people working themselves to the bone, [00:25:00] stressing themselves out, not taking enough time for self care and vacation.
I think that is probably the number one driver of imbalances and illness and disease is just Overworking and overstressing ourselves, you know, like overdoing cardio, burning the midnight oil and working all night long. And then we have to talk about the obvious, these endocrine disruptors, right? These PUFAs, which everyone's talking about right now, these forever chemicals, the microplastics, the toxic fragrances, and the things that are actually inundating, attacking, and assaulting our body.
Because just like well care, this illness is accumulative, right? And we are constantly using Glade plug ins and Febreze and Downy dryer sheets and stuff like that. You are literally poisoning yourself day in, day out. Like, I'm that person that takes the Uber and when I get in and it's over scented, I'm like, [00:26:00] Windows down, please!
Julie Michelson: why can't there, Oh my gosh, this is one of my biggest pet peeves in the world. Why can't that be a request? Uber. Uber. I hope you're listening. Fragrance free. Some of us really need a fragrance free ride. That is a, just a migraine waiting to jump into my brain with the way I actually was with a friend at a conference a couple of years ago, we got out of the car.
We, we just, we did windows down. It's still, he had. Five air fresheners in his car, and we were just like, you know what? We changed our mind. We're getting out. It was horrible. And I just look for, and the same with like Airbnb, like, please, I, I have like the best guy in the world. And whenever we travel, he will go in first and look for us.
For he's like, wait, wait, don't go in yet. Let me check because he knows [00:27:00] I can't, I am more resilient than I used to be. I'm still working on it. But it's, I love it. It's toxic. It is poison. You use the word poison. I love that word. It's it's poison. And maybe we need to go back to using poison instead of toxin, because that's another, you know, I think people.
Tune out. Cause they're like, Oh gosh, what now? What are you saying? And it's like, if you do that one things like start there, it's, it's life changing. It really is.
Diana Lane: this could be a whole side biz, right? Like a no talk, super no talks at Airbnb. So anybody out there listening, like,
Julie Michelson: seriously.
Diana Lane: you've got multiple consumers
Julie Michelson: I, I travel with, I travel with my own dish soap. Cause I don't want to use the blue stuff. I don't just don't even want it on my hands. Like, come on. Yeah.
Diana Lane: Well, and that's the thing is we're really inundated with this stuff. I mean, not just in the air, but look at the foods. I mean, we [00:28:00] know the WHO sucralose and how carcinogenic it is again, a poison. And it's still. Everywhere. There are so many things that are banned in other countries and we're wondering why the rates of autism, ADHD, and cancer are on the rise, especially in America.
Julie Michelson: And autoimmunity.
Diana Lane: food guys, these additives, the glyphosate and They're all okay, like they're all right and accepted by our, you know, powers that be and we have to vote with our dollars. That is so essential. Buy the organic products and buy the organic
Julie Michelson: Gross
Diana Lane: gross. Seriously, you haven't heard of the yucca app.
That's Y U K A the yucca app. It's got a little carrot for its favicon. Please download this app, get the upgraded version. It's like nine bucks for a year. You can literally. scan any product and get a [00:29:00] rating based on its poison or toxicity level. Now, the food section, I will soap box a little bit about this.
I'm not fully 100% in on their food ratings. Like there are things where they're like, well, this is too salty or like I have a really natural organic coconut based protein drink. That's like 20 grams of protein in this beverage. And they're like, Oh, it kind of has a lot of calories. So, you know, pick and choose with the food
Julie Michelson: Yeah.
Diana Lane: but the products, the products ratings are amazing.
And they tell you what and why they tell you how to get alternatives. I even ordered a new product that was not in there. I took a picture of the product face and the side of the product. They rated it within like three hours and they went every single item and were like, this one's good. These ones are bad.
And it was like a great product. So I love, love, love the Yucca app.
Julie Michelson: I, this is a new one to me. This is, this could be life changing. I use a variety of other apps and then my brain. Right. [00:30:00] Because yeah, it's. I think all of them are better than nothing. And then I think we also need to, to, again, there's this lack of personal responsibility that we all need to start stepping up and taking, because what's in those boxes in the grocery store, isn't food and it is toxic.
I, I was the paddle board. I said, I was paddle boarding yesterday with a friend who was visiting and she was so excited and she's like, I never go in a lake and I'm like, what do you, what? What do you mean you never go in a lake? And then she chuckled. She's like, I live in Iowa. I will not get in a lake in Iowa.
It's like taking a bath in glyphosate. Why would I do that? And I'm like, yep. So smart. So smart. We were in a pristine mountain lake filled by, you know, ice ice melt runoff. So
Diana Lane: God,
Julie Michelson: a little different than jumping in a lake in Iowa. So, you know, people think, yes, do it. [00:31:00] People think like, oh, I live in, you know, farmland and and where I live, there are a lot of farms too.
And so it's not always, you know, even like local people say, Oh, I, you know, I get eggs from my neighbor. And I'm like, How does your neighbor's chickens live and what are they eating? Because, just because they're home chickens doesn't mean, although I will say the one advantage is I'm guessing they're not, you know, dipped in chlorine before you buy them, but other than that, like, doesn't mean they're better.
So it's just becoming educated and just like going back to roots of medicine, which is Chinese medicine. We need to go back to roots of, you know, how did humans eat and live? And we were moving, we were sleeping, we were breathing, we were getting sunlight, we were eating real food. So, yeah, that is, it's so essential.
Are there any like, [00:32:00] I don't know when it comes to food, you, you named all the ones I name and again that's a, that's another big, big thing if somebody is eating processed food and factory meat and I was just picking on eggs and maybe some people are like what's the matter with next door eggs like hopefully they're great, but Like, where do you have your patients start?
Like, because it is a lot to say, like, okay, here's the goal, right? This is what we need to be looking for. What, is there something that's more important than something else in your book?
Diana Lane: Yeah. I mean, it can be really challenging to get completely away from every single processed food under the sun, right? Like I love me some chicken salad with these delicious Mary's gone crackers that I get sometimes. Right. Figuring out healthier alternatives is one of the things you can still enjoy the things that you like, like ice cream or something, for example, by getting a coconut milk version of it and watching out for [00:33:00] erythritol, which is not a good substitute for sugars.
So for anything that you really enjoy, that's maybe a treat or helps you feel good, or that's like, you know, a little bit of a splurge, there are healthier alternatives to those. Besides that, I will say it and scream it and shout it from the rooftops. We need to keep eating high quality, grass fed, free range meats.
You can get these at the grocery stores, but better yet, order it online because there are a lot of really great resources that have regenerative farming practices that are much more reasonably priced than something like Whole Foods. Sorry, Whole Foods. But Places like Wild Pastures or Piedmontese, right, you can get these like boxes of organic, grass fed, free range, high quality chicken, high quality beef, and you know that you're supporting farmers who are out there doing the work, loving on these animals, taking care of them, ensuring that they're not getting, you know, [00:34:00] all these other toxins and hormones and poisons and things like that.
So I would definitely say that in organic fruits and vegetables, you know, try to ditch the bread and things like that, at least get the gluten free alternatives of these and try to make sure that those gluten free alternatives aren't full of soy and. Seed oils. I know it ends up being a lot when we start getting all the way down to the nitty gritty, but start with the basics, kick out the gluten, you know, be very mindful of what kind of dairy you're using.
I'm not a no dairy person because I do think that Greek yogurt and get unpasteurized milk where you live. Those can be helpful as well. But I tend to lean towards this kind of like organic meat and organic fruit and vegetable oriented diet and start with just a couple things. What you'll find is the gluten free brown rice pasta if you cook al dente is just as delicious as the barilla crap that they're selling in the stores anyway.
So you might as well make the shift. You [00:35:00] have to ask yourself, is your life longevity and health worth it to you? Because to me it's worth everything. I spend so much money on eating high quality food that made this worth every single, any inconvenience and sidebar that I do to make sure that I'm nourishing my body in a healthy way.
Julie Michelson: I love that. And if you live somewhere like I do, you know, go meet your regenerative farmer or rancher and get a freezer and have a side of beef in the garage. It's so essential. And if you're grain free. The cassava pasta is just as good as the brown rice pasta. I actually, we like it better but it is, and I, but I love that you to start with quality protein because I didn't have guidance in my journey and everything was kind of, you know, I was self educating and, and it was this long road of adjusting and,[00:36:00] you know, people always have so we were so misguided when it came to what is healthy. What is real food? What is good for you? And so, you know, beef has been vilified. And, and so anybody who's looking at studies about B, you know, that's. That's, that's, you know, commercial feedlot beef. It's, it's terrible.
Like it's, it's not the same. Like grass fed, pastured beef is higher in omega 3s. It's, it's good for you. And so I love the, the, you're starting there because our proteins, I mean, we need protein. That's our building blocks, right? So that makes so much sense to start there. It really does. And. I will add this.
I don't go out to eat much because I love to cook. My partner loves to cook. We're very intentional about the quality of food we eat. And so we do spend a lot on [00:37:00] groceries, but I bet you people that are grabbing coffee at Starbucks and eating out several times a week are spending just as much money on food, but they're not getting what we're getting.
So. And I know that's like a barrier. A lot of people immediately are like, Oh, my God. Well, the gluten free pasta is more expensive. Well, yeah, but your doctor bills are going to be expensive. So let's, let's, you know, again, that's where that proactive and, and, you know, thinking longterm.
Diana Lane: I'm going to your farmer's markets, right? Like there are ways that you can eat healthy without it being overtly expensive. Like I even mentioned, finding at your farmer's markets or some of these online resources. Like when I buy meat at the grocery store, yes, I'm paying extra. But when I order these boxes, it's like 150 bucks for an un reasonable amount of food from wild pastures.
It's like a whole chicken, chicken breast, chicken thighs, chicken wings, ground beef. There's so much in there and there are ways that you can find [00:38:00] these healthier alternatives and still be mindful of your budget along with thinking about how much your doctor bills will cost and the things that are detrimental, long term medication and so forth.
Julie Michelson: Yeah. I love it. It's such just priceless advice. So I, I really, if you're listening to this, please listen to Diana, take her advice. It's, it's just so important. And the, the one thing leads to the next, right? It's just about taking that first step. Which leads me to, because we did cover a lot, if you had to, and I know this is so hard, if you had to give listeners one thing they could start doing today to move that needle and start to improve their health, what would it be?
It could be anything.
Diana Lane: Listen. I love it. I got the download immediately. Listen to your body. Listen. You are getting signals and messages every day. You eat [00:39:00] something crappy. You feel like crap. You wake up anxious. Maybe you didn't drink enough water. Your body is giving you little whispers that will become wails if you do not listen.
So just pay attention to the things that you're eating. Oh, I have a midday slump every single day. What is it before or after food? Oh, okay. You
Julie Michelson: Oh, right after an hour after lunch.
Diana Lane: or you just say it's something heavy and dense and currently listen to your body. It is telling you every single day, what you are doing to move the needle in your life.
And then when you start implementing the many, many pieces of advice that we've shared in this summer are in the segment. You'll start to listen to those two and you'll be like, Whoa, I woke up and went for a walk and I feel amazing today. I'm going to do that again tomorrow.
Julie Michelson: I love it. Oh, yay. For people that listen on the go, which is pretty much the only time I will listen to podcasts. [00:40:00] Where is the best place to find you?
Diana Lane: Yeah, you can find me in a couple different avenues. So my primary website is moonmedicinemagic. com. That is consistent across the board. You can find me on Instagram and Facebook at the same moon medicine magic. My email also moon medicine, magic at gmail. com. You're welcome to reach out if you'd like to chat further.
I love sharing health and wellness information. And when I have created this new project that I'm so excited to feature do on as well, Julie, we'll be able to find that information through those same avenues as well.
Julie Michelson: Amazing. And it'll all be in the show notes. I just wanted, like I, like I said, for those that are, aren't going to pause and go look in the show notes, sometimes it's nice just to get that auditory hit. So Diana, thank you for sharing so many amazing tips and sharing a bit of your journey with us today. It has been such a pleasure to have you.
Diana Lane: Likewise, [00:41:00] honored to share, always fun to chat with you.
Julie Michelson: For everyone listening, remember you can get those show notes and transcripts by visiting inspiredliving.show. I hope you had a great time and enjoyed this episode as much as I did. I'll see you next week. [00:42:00]
In today's [00:01:00] conversation, we are talking about the perfect blend of science and woo. Diana gives us tips on essential steps for wellness, as well as how to avoid the common roadblocks that are detrimental to health. Diana, welcome to the podcast.
Diana Lane: Great. Thanks so much, Julie. I'm excited to be here.
Julie Michelson: I am so excited to, to learn about your transition into this beautiful world you've created with integration and acupuncture and science and Wu as somebody that I believe your story shifted as you were pre med cardiac surgeon. Is that where you were originally headed?
Diana Lane: You know, it started with that journey of self and soul. I wanted to help the world by healing hearts. I had been a ballerina when I was young and was 16 with multiple eating disorders. super unhealthy, [00:02:00] hating my body and my life and was wondering how I could do it different. I got into nutrition, which was the low hanging fruit, right?
The segue into like, okay, what else is possible? And then when I got into pre med, it was so apparent that I just wanted to really help people heal. And I was. Yeah. In undergrad, you know, we specialize pretty early. Like obviously I wasn't like a heart surgeon, but I was in that specialization field getting ready to drop into U Dub's program, which is a really extensive pre med program.
I was in my cardiothoracic rehab internship up at St. David's and I could just see how broken the system was. I saw people getting worse and not better. I saw them coming in, throwing out McDonald's cups, like two weeks after a heart attack.
Julie Michelson: Oh, gosh.
Diana Lane: booze and cigarettes. And I'm just like, is this the way? And as per my nature, I asked a lot of questions.
Well, like, can I talk to them about this? Like, what about encouraging water? What about lifestyle changes [00:03:00] and modifications? And more or less, they were kind of like, look, that's not your job here. You want to get them on the machines, take their vitals, make sure they're taking their prescriptions and That led me to ask even more questions in this internship.
I know. I'm like, well, how often are they coming back?
Julie Michelson: you. Not.
Diana Lane: man. I was that troublemaker. Sorry for asking too many good questions. Doctors love me now too.
Julie Michelson: Huh. Well, we need that. I
Diana Lane: Yeah. I mean, I just had to wonder like, are people, how, what's the return rate? What is life expectancy? And It just hurt my heart, no pun intended, to feel so helpless in a system that's more or less end of life care. And so I've called my mom on the way home like, this is not it. How can I create change?
How can I help people? Before they get to this point. And so I said, wait, I said, I jumped ship to the east [00:04:00] side, ditched my application to the University of Washington. Great school would have been an amazing program. And I went to evergreen for a couple semesters and started taking these really interesting integrative courses that were like intro to holistic studies and.
I looked into everything. I mean, I'm telling you, Ayurveda, naturopathy, chiropractic, physical therapy, OT, trying to figure out what was the Tao, what was the path. And Chinese medicine fell into my lap and it was so obvious. It was like everything just clicked in my system. The more I learned, the more it made sense.
So comprehensive. But I'm still a science nerd at heart. I love running labs. I love working with the medical field in the western world and empowering my patients to ask the right questions to get those labs so we can look at functional levels and to really be that path to the future of medicine where integration is the key.
Julie Michelson: love it. And this is, this is the change, [00:05:00] right? You are the change. And I know the work you're doing is. Is just amazing. And you still, I love that balance. I'm, I'm such a geek as well. I'm a data geek. And I, I'm always when I'm working with somebody, it's always about feeling better. Like that's the target, right?
Life is big and full and wonderful as it can be. But I love seeing markers change on those functional panels so that we know it's like, yeah, yeah, actually the, you know, it all ties together and they all show the same things. So I, I just think that that's incredible. I'm always blown away. And especially for you, so many people it's because they got sick in medical school or residency, whatever.
You know, Western medicine wasn't helping. And so they searched. So, but you just had this brilliance of like, Nope, you knew you needed better [00:06:00] answers to those good questions,
Diana Lane: I couldn't even imagine, you know, going through COVID and everything we've been through the past couple of years, like, you know, that ghost of Christmas past, like, what if, what if I had to take in that route? At what point would I have woken up and been like, Oh, I can't do this anymore?
Julie Michelson: right? Right. Well, and thank, and it probably would have ended up in some kind of manifestation for you personally, if you weren't living your true calling. So I'm just excited that you're doing what you're doing and you do it with. Such love in your heart. No, no, I've, it's, I always enjoy learning from you and listening to you and, and for people that are able to watch this on video.
I mean, it just, you just radiate. So, so thank you for sharing that. With everybody. So I want to dive into your what I would consider and the word is so [00:07:00] overused and misunderstood but truly holistic whole being approach. I want to talk about healing because that's what listeners are wanting to listen to.
You know, and I know that you have, you're very intentional about. The, the foundational components to whole body healing to true, which is just true healing, right? If we just fix one thing, we're not healing. So what are those components?
Diana Lane: You know, there's the basics. I think you'll hear this time and time again, you've probably heard it throughout this series and we'll hear it on many, many others that there are foundational things that everybody can and would benefit from doing moving your body, getting time in nature, drinking high quality, non fluoridated spring water, eating nutritious, whole foods that are organic and high quality grass fed free range meats.
Right. Getting sleep and mindfulness. These are all the foundational [00:08:00] things that everybody could, should, and hopefully will be practicing in their lives. I was super impressed. I recently went to a new primary care doctor and she even had five foundations that included movement and nutrition and water and sleep and breath.
Right. These are the things that are the most comprehensive. And... There's no one right way or only way to heal. So I am a big fan of having a healing team as an acupuncturist and functional medicine practitioner. There's so much that I can support on. And I'm like, have a therapist, have a massage therapist, go and see a Western medical doctor, get your pap smears.
Maybe don't get as many mammograms, but there are so many things that we need to incorporate into this holistic and whole body healing. So I think. fusion here is really the key. Like you said, it's about people feeling well and sometimes Sometimes [00:09:00] that could even mean pharmaceuticals. Now, obviously you want to be mindful of bite effects, right?
The over prescriptions are a big thing. Not everybody needs everything because there are interventions, right? There are things that we could do ahead of time to avoid needing the statins and the blood pressure medications and all the things that can be modified. If we talk about those foundations, if we bring in herbs and supplements, I'm If we utilize multi modality healing, and I think that really is the key is like, what can we do to healthcare stack and self care stack and what can we do to really avoid the detrimental things that are pills for side effects of side effects and surgeries that may or may not actually do the trick or these experimental, you know, neuromodulators that aren't really always helping and most the time make things worse.
So let's get to the core, right? Let's get to the foundation and really help people heal both from the inside out and. [00:10:00] The outside in, right? Because there's a lot of stuff around us that we're drinking, putting on our bodies, smelling, that are really toxic and can be attributing to these long term diseases.
Other things like metals. Are there metals in your mouth? That's like the number one source of disease right now is these old school mercury fillings and these things that are really, really toxic for us long term.
Julie Michelson: Wow, you've hit on so many things that drove my 11 years of decline. And I wanted, you know, the ideal and I am excited. I don't know that it will be in my lifetime, but for a time when true prevention, all of those things that you just said, right. Creating that change or just create having that lifestyle and preventing the need for statins and all the things but also the beautiful thing because the body is amazing and can heal is [00:11:00] we can get off of those things.
We can still get to that root core and have that great foundation. And so I just love. That's what's so exciting to me. I joke, people ask, you know, who do you really love to work with? And I'm like, I really love helping people who've, you know, maybe got five autoimmune diagnoses, you know, heal, truly heal and get better, but I also really love the That kind of, and I know the word is overused, but biohacker mindset, or, you know, the people that are like, no, I'm good.
And I want to be better. And I want to stay better. And those are really, those are my two, like, yes, let's do this. So that's it's just amazing that. But you know, I look at you and I, and I know you're an adult, but you look so young,
Diana Lane: So you need
Julie Michelson: so wise, so early. And, and I, I do, I love that you bring up this idea [00:12:00] of team especially as somebody who loves, you know, I, I know results, the best results happen the quickest when people have a team and, and, and you pointed out everybody's team may look different.
Yeah. So and we're not throwing, we're not excluding anybody from the team and we're not throwing anybody under the bus. And so I just, I think we're, we're so aligned in approach that, that I, I just, just really that, and your blend of the Chinese and the science and, and, and to me, like, and I get it, people, I think Chinese medicine is, I mean, it is.
That's where it all started, right? And I think there's, there's more and more and more science, you know, because we like to see that data. It's like, Oh, we're just figuring this stuff out. And it's like, yeah, but they've been doing it for thousands of years. And now, and [00:13:00] now, and now, you know, we're like, Oh, this is a great idea.
It's like quantum physics,
Diana Lane: what I love is that science is really starting to catch up to this ancient medicine, you know, like cheat and ATP are the same thing. Anemia and blood deficiency, the same thing. And now that we can actually prove the existence of meridians and acupuncture points, and even the VA is doing some really high level peer reviewed double blind research studies on acupuncture, it's like Welcome.
I'm glad everybody's catching up in the modern world. You know, this medicine withstood the fall of the Chinese empire for a reason. And now when you go to China, like you go straight, like you have a stroke, you get through the stroke, you're stabilized. They send you directly to the acupuncture ward for the rest of your healing because it's so effective.
When you go down to the pharmacy to pick up your prescriptions, you pick up your herbs right at the next window. [00:14:00] So this I think will be the future of medicine. Hopefully sooner rather than later.
Julie Michelson: I love that. And like, essential to highlight that that's where that team that care team that really know, you know, an integrated care team comes into play because like, you don't want to be on prescriptions and herbs and without somebody know what you're on and how they play together and. I think we're in that time where people, you know, read stuff, and I want to try this, and I want to try that, and oh, this worked for her, I'll try that.
And that's where having somebody like Diana is essential, so to really make sure that, that sometimes we're trying to help ourselves, and we end up doing the wrong things.
Diana Lane: You know, fortunately, we're also taught western pharmacology. Like when I went to Eastern Medical School, it was still medical school. There was a biomed component. There is a pharmacology component. And we learn about herb drug interactions. [00:15:00] Fortunately, there's not a ton of them unless you're using something like futsa, which is aconite, which is a very precious and cautiously used herb.
But you know, taking them apart from each other, there's actually a lot of herbs and supplements you can take that can help the side effects of some of these western pharmaceuticals. But it is important to be aware of the rare but potential for herb drug interactions for sure,
Julie Michelson: Yeah. Which is again, just where I'm like, you know, like you are trained, you know, Google is not a teacher. So don't like really, cause I just see so, so much of or another thing, you know, we use a lot of supplements. People ask me all the time, you know, what supplement should everybody be on? I'm like, I don't know.
Let me see their labs. There is that we're all different and and at different times and so it's like well, let's see what you know What do you really need? And I've had so many people like oh, I I don't know. I'm just I don't that seems like a lot of stuff I don't want to take [00:16:00] that and and then I find out it's because they're taking 20 other things that they Read about over the past two years that might be helpful.
And I'm like, okay, what if we pause the stuff that isn't showing you have a need for right now and actually support your body where it needs it. So I, I just, I love that. You had that again. Just full spectrum of science and woo and, and the more I learn about what I used to think is woo is again, again, just goes back to, no, that's just science.
We just don't have the double blind studies yet.
Diana Lane: right? You know, and that's changing. I really love, you know, like I said, I'm a research nerd seeing the way they're starting to utilize these techniques and, and really getting precise, right? Like there were a bunch of studies where they were comparing acupuncture to sham acupuncture. Now, what sham acupuncture was, was them still like using a toothpick [00:17:00] to stimulate the point.
But maybe not inserting the needle all the way. And guess what? You're still stimulating the point. So now studies are starting to utilize like no intervention sham acupuncture and acupuncture and or other controls that make it really precise. And you'll see more and more of this in the future.
Julie Michelson: which is exciting. And I think, you know, we're talking specifically acupuncture and Chinese medicine, but, but even just functional medicine in general, I mean, that is, there, there is not a lot of data, even things that we're like, we not like we know. And there are studies you can pull together, but, you know, we know you need to move and you need sunlight and clean water and good, you know, real good food and all the things.
And I want to dig in a little more to those foundations, because I think there's almost 2 sides of the spectrum of, like, Oh, I roll again. It's the same. [00:18:00] It's movement and sleep and toxic. You know, everybody's always saying that. And that's a lot, right? It's like either so boring because I've heard it so many times or like, that's overwhelming.
So of the, the, and they are all essential and they all work together, just like our body systems. Like there's not any isolated body system. Where, where do you think is essential for people to start like maybe they are eating McDonald's and I mean, I don't know, I would love to pull my listeners and see, or do I even have listeners that are still eating McDonald's?
Gosh, I hope not. Please stop. But aside from that, like, of, of them, you know, where do you see Start because I always feel like, you know, we need to create a little momentum, right? Nobody's gonna go from zero to a hundred overnight and sustain it. So like, is there, [00:19:00] is there a hierarchy in your book or, or a starting place?
Diana Lane: that's a great question. One of the things I teach a lot of my patients is about self care stacking, right? There's ways to make these things joyful. I definitely think if you're not getting adequate nutrition, Sleep and hydration like those above everything else because it's going to be much harder to go out and move or feel inclined and motivated to do those things if your brain is inflamed from eating a bunch of gluten or McDonald's or whatever that is or if you're Exhausted and dehydrated because you haven't been sleeping and drinking enough water.
So I would say those are like the trifecta FECTA foundation for the rest of the things and then everything else kind of comes together, right? Getting time outside in nature, breathing, listening to binaural beats is one thing you can do in 20 minutes, right? And if you have adequate sleep and hydration and enough fuel, it's going to be a lot [00:20:00] easier to self care stack some of these other things.
With sleep. You know, there are things that need to be moderated and modified in order to get deep sleep. That includes a dark, quiet, safe place to be sleeping, where maybe your animals also are trained to sleep well with you or things like that, because these little cofactors can really disrupt the rest of the human ecosystem, right?
Sleep is a foundation for everything else, but so is nutrition and Adequate spring water that's not housed in plastic bottles that does not have fluoride in it, right? Those things are all inflammatory for the brain. And if your system as a foundation is rocked and not getting what it needs, of course, you're not going to want to go and find joyful movement or do things that are going to further nourish the rest of your longevity.
Julie Michelson: I love that. And I love your, your self care stacking. I know we've spoken in a, [00:21:00] in a different location about you know, the whole, like doing, doing the things outside, right? So once you're getting outside and you're maybe using binaural beats and you're doing your breathing, well, then, you know, go for a little hike or a walk or, you know, add in that movement.
And you're just, you're just getting this hit or. Don't even do that. Maybe take your shoes off and stand. There's just so many ways. And I love that you keep touching on joyful. Because I, I think that, that it is essential. It's I think a missing piece of wellness. Is joyfulness and if you're going to, to try to improve your foundation and you're thinking of it as a chore, it's not serving you.
I mean, you're not going to do it for long. And so I love the, the idea of joyful movement because I am somebody, I just sent an email out this week, like confessing, I don't like working out in a gym. [00:22:00] I don't, that's, you are not going to find me working out in a gym. I move hay bales. I hand pump, you know I was, I was paddleboarding yesterday.
So the night before I was hand pumping, it was kind of, it was like, my friend was like, you don't have a pump. And I'm like, it never even occurred. This is a great workout. It was like 96 degrees. And we were like, you know, and I live at altitude. So but whatever that joyful movement is like, that's the way like it's.
The, the stuff you want to do. And yes, I have equipment. I work out at home. I'm not saying don't ever work. I'm saying find, I have friends that love going to the gym. My daughter loves going to the gym. My son, one of my sons love it. Like great, do it fine. Find the thing and just keep changing it up to, till you find the things.
So I love that
Diana Lane: it a lot easier to implement if you do it that way. You know, [00:23:00] I don't call things routines anymore. I call them rituals because who wants a routine? I mean people might like the structure of routine, but ritual makes it feel really cohesive with my body. I'm like, Ooh, yes. It's a ritual,
Julie Michelson: and I could feel that word when you said it and I what I was thinking was some and I do, you know, kids thrive on routine like I think as humans, in a sense, yes, we need routine, but often routines are important. Thank you. Not supportive, right? Like, you know, I know a lot of people that will have a drink when they get home from work.
That's their routine. It doesn't mean like I don't think their body would find that a ritual, right? So I love my heart. Could I just had this like expansion when you said ritual. So I'm I'm going to be would be stealing that one. I will credit you.
Diana Lane: Love it.
Julie Michelson: So we, we touched on the, these [00:24:00] essential foundations and they are, and it's so funny because back to kind of that biohacking mentality, you know, everybody wants the quick hit or the cool thing or the fancy workout equipment or the, and to start with, are you sleeping?
Are you drinking? Are you, you know, like we tend to overlook that sometimes. And so I, I, I think it can't be. Talked about enough. So these are the things we need for healing. What are some of the most detrimental things that are negatively impacting health and wellness? Like, what are you, what's, what's showing up at your door?
What are you seeing as these kind of drivers? And you mentioned some,
Diana Lane: Yeah. You know, we live in a society where we're definitely quick fix motivated. And the other big thing that's happening is. Slowly transitioning out of but over the last decade or so is this mindset of hustle culture, you know, people working themselves to the bone, [00:25:00] stressing themselves out, not taking enough time for self care and vacation.
I think that is probably the number one driver of imbalances and illness and disease is just Overworking and overstressing ourselves, you know, like overdoing cardio, burning the midnight oil and working all night long. And then we have to talk about the obvious, these endocrine disruptors, right? These PUFAs, which everyone's talking about right now, these forever chemicals, the microplastics, the toxic fragrances, and the things that are actually inundating, attacking, and assaulting our body.
Because just like well care, this illness is accumulative, right? And we are constantly using Glade plug ins and Febreze and Downy dryer sheets and stuff like that. You are literally poisoning yourself day in, day out. Like, I'm that person that takes the Uber and when I get in and it's over scented, I'm like, [00:26:00] Windows down, please!
Julie Michelson: why can't there, Oh my gosh, this is one of my biggest pet peeves in the world. Why can't that be a request? Uber. Uber. I hope you're listening. Fragrance free. Some of us really need a fragrance free ride. That is a, just a migraine waiting to jump into my brain with the way I actually was with a friend at a conference a couple of years ago, we got out of the car.
We, we just, we did windows down. It's still, he had. Five air fresheners in his car, and we were just like, you know what? We changed our mind. We're getting out. It was horrible. And I just look for, and the same with like Airbnb, like, please, I, I have like the best guy in the world. And whenever we travel, he will go in first and look for us.
For he's like, wait, wait, don't go in yet. Let me check because he knows [00:27:00] I can't, I am more resilient than I used to be. I'm still working on it. But it's, I love it. It's toxic. It is poison. You use the word poison. I love that word. It's it's poison. And maybe we need to go back to using poison instead of toxin, because that's another, you know, I think people.
Tune out. Cause they're like, Oh gosh, what now? What are you saying? And it's like, if you do that one things like start there, it's, it's life changing. It really is.
Diana Lane: this could be a whole side biz, right? Like a no talk, super no talks at Airbnb. So anybody out there listening, like,
Julie Michelson: seriously.
Diana Lane: you've got multiple consumers
Julie Michelson: I, I travel with, I travel with my own dish soap. Cause I don't want to use the blue stuff. I don't just don't even want it on my hands. Like, come on. Yeah.
Diana Lane: Well, and that's the thing is we're really inundated with this stuff. I mean, not just in the air, but look at the foods. I mean, we [00:28:00] know the WHO sucralose and how carcinogenic it is again, a poison. And it's still. Everywhere. There are so many things that are banned in other countries and we're wondering why the rates of autism, ADHD, and cancer are on the rise, especially in America.
Julie Michelson: And autoimmunity.
Diana Lane: food guys, these additives, the glyphosate and They're all okay, like they're all right and accepted by our, you know, powers that be and we have to vote with our dollars. That is so essential. Buy the organic products and buy the organic
Julie Michelson: Gross
Diana Lane: gross. Seriously, you haven't heard of the yucca app.
That's Y U K A the yucca app. It's got a little carrot for its favicon. Please download this app, get the upgraded version. It's like nine bucks for a year. You can literally. scan any product and get a [00:29:00] rating based on its poison or toxicity level. Now, the food section, I will soap box a little bit about this.
I'm not fully 100% in on their food ratings. Like there are things where they're like, well, this is too salty or like I have a really natural organic coconut based protein drink. That's like 20 grams of protein in this beverage. And they're like, Oh, it kind of has a lot of calories. So, you know, pick and choose with the food
Julie Michelson: Yeah.
Diana Lane: but the products, the products ratings are amazing.
And they tell you what and why they tell you how to get alternatives. I even ordered a new product that was not in there. I took a picture of the product face and the side of the product. They rated it within like three hours and they went every single item and were like, this one's good. These ones are bad.
And it was like a great product. So I love, love, love the Yucca app.
Julie Michelson: I, this is a new one to me. This is, this could be life changing. I use a variety of other apps and then my brain. Right. [00:30:00] Because yeah, it's. I think all of them are better than nothing. And then I think we also need to, to, again, there's this lack of personal responsibility that we all need to start stepping up and taking, because what's in those boxes in the grocery store, isn't food and it is toxic.
I, I was the paddle board. I said, I was paddle boarding yesterday with a friend who was visiting and she was so excited and she's like, I never go in a lake and I'm like, what do you, what? What do you mean you never go in a lake? And then she chuckled. She's like, I live in Iowa. I will not get in a lake in Iowa.
It's like taking a bath in glyphosate. Why would I do that? And I'm like, yep. So smart. So smart. We were in a pristine mountain lake filled by, you know, ice ice melt runoff. So
Diana Lane: God,
Julie Michelson: a little different than jumping in a lake in Iowa. So, you know, people think, yes, do it. [00:31:00] People think like, oh, I live in, you know, farmland and and where I live, there are a lot of farms too.
And so it's not always, you know, even like local people say, Oh, I, you know, I get eggs from my neighbor. And I'm like, How does your neighbor's chickens live and what are they eating? Because, just because they're home chickens doesn't mean, although I will say the one advantage is I'm guessing they're not, you know, dipped in chlorine before you buy them, but other than that, like, doesn't mean they're better.
So it's just becoming educated and just like going back to roots of medicine, which is Chinese medicine. We need to go back to roots of, you know, how did humans eat and live? And we were moving, we were sleeping, we were breathing, we were getting sunlight, we were eating real food. So, yeah, that is, it's so essential.
Are there any like, [00:32:00] I don't know when it comes to food, you, you named all the ones I name and again that's a, that's another big, big thing if somebody is eating processed food and factory meat and I was just picking on eggs and maybe some people are like what's the matter with next door eggs like hopefully they're great, but Like, where do you have your patients start?
Like, because it is a lot to say, like, okay, here's the goal, right? This is what we need to be looking for. What, is there something that's more important than something else in your book?
Diana Lane: Yeah. I mean, it can be really challenging to get completely away from every single processed food under the sun, right? Like I love me some chicken salad with these delicious Mary's gone crackers that I get sometimes. Right. Figuring out healthier alternatives is one of the things you can still enjoy the things that you like, like ice cream or something, for example, by getting a coconut milk version of it and watching out for [00:33:00] erythritol, which is not a good substitute for sugars.
So for anything that you really enjoy, that's maybe a treat or helps you feel good, or that's like, you know, a little bit of a splurge, there are healthier alternatives to those. Besides that, I will say it and scream it and shout it from the rooftops. We need to keep eating high quality, grass fed, free range meats.
You can get these at the grocery stores, but better yet, order it online because there are a lot of really great resources that have regenerative farming practices that are much more reasonably priced than something like Whole Foods. Sorry, Whole Foods. But Places like Wild Pastures or Piedmontese, right, you can get these like boxes of organic, grass fed, free range, high quality chicken, high quality beef, and you know that you're supporting farmers who are out there doing the work, loving on these animals, taking care of them, ensuring that they're not getting, you know, [00:34:00] all these other toxins and hormones and poisons and things like that.
So I would definitely say that in organic fruits and vegetables, you know, try to ditch the bread and things like that, at least get the gluten free alternatives of these and try to make sure that those gluten free alternatives aren't full of soy and. Seed oils. I know it ends up being a lot when we start getting all the way down to the nitty gritty, but start with the basics, kick out the gluten, you know, be very mindful of what kind of dairy you're using.
I'm not a no dairy person because I do think that Greek yogurt and get unpasteurized milk where you live. Those can be helpful as well. But I tend to lean towards this kind of like organic meat and organic fruit and vegetable oriented diet and start with just a couple things. What you'll find is the gluten free brown rice pasta if you cook al dente is just as delicious as the barilla crap that they're selling in the stores anyway.
So you might as well make the shift. You [00:35:00] have to ask yourself, is your life longevity and health worth it to you? Because to me it's worth everything. I spend so much money on eating high quality food that made this worth every single, any inconvenience and sidebar that I do to make sure that I'm nourishing my body in a healthy way.
Julie Michelson: I love that. And if you live somewhere like I do, you know, go meet your regenerative farmer or rancher and get a freezer and have a side of beef in the garage. It's so essential. And if you're grain free. The cassava pasta is just as good as the brown rice pasta. I actually, we like it better but it is, and I, but I love that you to start with quality protein because I didn't have guidance in my journey and everything was kind of, you know, I was self educating and, and it was this long road of adjusting and,[00:36:00] you know, people always have so we were so misguided when it came to what is healthy. What is real food? What is good for you? And so, you know, beef has been vilified. And, and so anybody who's looking at studies about B, you know, that's. That's, that's, you know, commercial feedlot beef. It's, it's terrible.
Like it's, it's not the same. Like grass fed, pastured beef is higher in omega 3s. It's, it's good for you. And so I love the, the, you're starting there because our proteins, I mean, we need protein. That's our building blocks, right? So that makes so much sense to start there. It really does. And. I will add this.
I don't go out to eat much because I love to cook. My partner loves to cook. We're very intentional about the quality of food we eat. And so we do spend a lot on [00:37:00] groceries, but I bet you people that are grabbing coffee at Starbucks and eating out several times a week are spending just as much money on food, but they're not getting what we're getting.
So. And I know that's like a barrier. A lot of people immediately are like, Oh, my God. Well, the gluten free pasta is more expensive. Well, yeah, but your doctor bills are going to be expensive. So let's, let's, you know, again, that's where that proactive and, and, you know, thinking longterm.
Diana Lane: I'm going to your farmer's markets, right? Like there are ways that you can eat healthy without it being overtly expensive. Like I even mentioned, finding at your farmer's markets or some of these online resources. Like when I buy meat at the grocery store, yes, I'm paying extra. But when I order these boxes, it's like 150 bucks for an un reasonable amount of food from wild pastures.
It's like a whole chicken, chicken breast, chicken thighs, chicken wings, ground beef. There's so much in there and there are ways that you can find [00:38:00] these healthier alternatives and still be mindful of your budget along with thinking about how much your doctor bills will cost and the things that are detrimental, long term medication and so forth.
Julie Michelson: Yeah. I love it. It's such just priceless advice. So I, I really, if you're listening to this, please listen to Diana, take her advice. It's, it's just so important. And the, the one thing leads to the next, right? It's just about taking that first step. Which leads me to, because we did cover a lot, if you had to, and I know this is so hard, if you had to give listeners one thing they could start doing today to move that needle and start to improve their health, what would it be?
It could be anything.
Diana Lane: Listen. I love it. I got the download immediately. Listen to your body. Listen. You are getting signals and messages every day. You eat [00:39:00] something crappy. You feel like crap. You wake up anxious. Maybe you didn't drink enough water. Your body is giving you little whispers that will become wails if you do not listen.
So just pay attention to the things that you're eating. Oh, I have a midday slump every single day. What is it before or after food? Oh, okay. You
Julie Michelson: Oh, right after an hour after lunch.
Diana Lane: or you just say it's something heavy and dense and currently listen to your body. It is telling you every single day, what you are doing to move the needle in your life.
And then when you start implementing the many, many pieces of advice that we've shared in this summer are in the segment. You'll start to listen to those two and you'll be like, Whoa, I woke up and went for a walk and I feel amazing today. I'm going to do that again tomorrow.
Julie Michelson: I love it. Oh, yay. For people that listen on the go, which is pretty much the only time I will listen to podcasts. [00:40:00] Where is the best place to find you?
Diana Lane: Yeah, you can find me in a couple different avenues. So my primary website is moonmedicinemagic. com. That is consistent across the board. You can find me on Instagram and Facebook at the same moon medicine magic. My email also moon medicine, magic at gmail. com. You're welcome to reach out if you'd like to chat further.
I love sharing health and wellness information. And when I have created this new project that I'm so excited to feature do on as well, Julie, we'll be able to find that information through those same avenues as well.
Julie Michelson: Amazing. And it'll all be in the show notes. I just wanted, like I, like I said, for those that are, aren't going to pause and go look in the show notes, sometimes it's nice just to get that auditory hit. So Diana, thank you for sharing so many amazing tips and sharing a bit of your journey with us today. It has been such a pleasure to have you.
Diana Lane: Likewise, [00:41:00] honored to share, always fun to chat with you.
Julie Michelson: For everyone listening, remember you can get those show notes and transcripts by visiting inspiredliving.show. I hope you had a great time and enjoyed this episode as much as I did. I'll see you next week. [00:42:00]
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My Guest For This Episode
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Diana Lane
Diana Lane is a Self Care Specialist, Integrative Medicine Practitioner and Holistic Health Expert. A premed heart surgeon turned Acupuncturist, Herbalist and Reiki Master, with over 20 years of experience, she specializes in women’s wellness, (specifically adrenal fatigue/stress, cycle issues, insomnia and cosmetic acupuncture) and has a private practice in an integrative clinic in Austin, Texas. Diana is also well versed in functional lab analysis and care order lab testing directly through her clinic.
Diana is the perfect blend of science and Wu, incorporating acupuncture, herbalism, the esoteric arts, body work, nutritional consulting, sound therapy and crystal healing into her multifaceted medical practice.
For her own Sacred Self-Care time she enjoys outdoor adventures, dancing and traveling. Her passion projects also include hosting community oriented meditation and movement experiences, in a sacred space for transformation, that creates soulful connections.
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