Speaking of Women's Health
The Speaking of Women's Health Podcast is excited to bring you credible women's health information from host and Executive Director, Dr. Holly L. Thacker. Dr. Thacker will interview guest clinicians discussing relevant women's health topics and the latest news and tips.
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Speaking of Women's Health
Celebrating Thanksgiving with Gratitude
What if you could harness the power of gratitude to transform your health and well-being? Join Dr. Thacker in this Speaking of Women's Health Podcast episode as she shares gratitude's impact on our happiness, optimism and physical health.
We are grateful to Sunflower donors, supporters, and listeners who fuel our mission to spread women's health information worldwide. With #GivingTuesday on the horizon, we explore its role in fostering generosity and community impact.
Welcome to the Fit, Healthy and Happy Podcast hosted by Josh and Kyle from Colossus...
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Welcome to the Speaking of Women's Health podcast. I'm your host, dr Holly Thacker, the Executive Director of Speaking of Women's Health, and I am glad to be back in the Sunflower House for a new episode, for a new episode. On this episode, I'm back in the sunflower house for a little bit of time to introduce and do a replay from season one, episode 49, on why showing gratitude is good for your health. In this episode, I share ways to show your gratitude for Thanksgiving it's our biggest thankful holiday and how to reap the health benefits that come with gratitude, which include increased happiness and optimism while decreasing the risk of anxiety and depression. At Thanksgiving, it's certainly one of my family traditions to go around the table and have everyone express what they're happy for, and it could be major things, tiny things, funny things. It's really a wonderful family tradition and I have so many things to be thankful for my wonderful staff in the Center for Specialized Women's Health, my family, my grandson Lincoln is turning two and having his big Thanksgiving birthday party. I'm thankful for such good friends. In fact, last year's season 51 also touched on gratitude and was about fairy godmothers giving back to the community, my dear friend Lisa Margolis, who spends a lot of her time making wishes come true for ill and dying children and at this time we think about family. We're around the table and have discussions about what's gone on in the year. It's a good time to sometimes collect family history because increasingly there is a lot of conditions that we can trace and figure out if you're at increased risk because you really know what your biological family history. If you haven't listened to some of our podcasts on genetics, I've got an upcoming one with a geneticist and genetics counselor on the gene of law and important things to know about legalities in terms of genetic testing. Genetic testing is really exploding. Genetic testing, Genetic testing is really exploding. There's more and more indications for it and it's different than recreational genetic testing, and I certainly had an interesting discussion with my son Stetson, who is a PhD in molecular medicine and cancer genetics, and we'll have him on the podcast in season three. He's actually started his own podcast Views from Cleve Mandu, so you'll hear more about that.
Speaker 1:So, getting back to why, I want to reprise the importance of gratitude in this time and this season. It's because anxiety and depression are the most common mental disorder globally and they can come in different forms and flavors. They do share some commonalities and it's generally associated with negative thinking patterns. And if you can start your day and recognize what you're grateful for and practice gratitude, it's kind of like looking at the glass half full as opposed to half empty. In a study, one group wrote about things they were grateful for that had occurred during the week, and a second group wrote about their daily irritations, things that displeased them, and about a third wrote about events that had affected them, with really no emphasis on either being positive or negative. And at 10 weeks, those who wrote about gratitude were more optimistic, felt better about their lives and surprisingly, they exercised more and had fewer visits to their healthcare clinicians than those who focused on aggravation. And we've all had that experience of being around someone who is nervous Nelly, or negative Nancy around someone who is nervous Nelly or negative Nancy as opposed to someone who's optimistic Olivia, or happy Hallie. I think that's one reason why grandparents' health has improved being around their grandchildren, because in general, children are excited and learning new things and take pleasure in very simple things in life.
Speaker 1:So there is a growing body of research on the benefits of gratitude and studies have found that giving thanks and counting blessings help people sleep better, and that's such a common problem, especially at midlife, and we have really terrific podcasts dedicated to sleep and sleep better. That's such a common problem, especially at midlife, and we have really terrific podcasts dedicated to sleep and sleep disorders. People showing gratitude have less stress and improved interpersonal relationships, something that everyone should strive for. There was a large study conducted by the Virginia Commonwealth University that showed that thankfulness predicted lower risk of not just major depression and generalized anxiety disorders, but phobia, nicotine dependence, alcohol dependence and drug abuse, which is such a devastating problem. With a couple hundred thousand Americans dying every year from fentanyl overdoses. It's certainly important to educate your college-aged and high school-aged children at this time when everyone's sitting around the table, that if they think they're just taking a simple pill that someone might give them because they have a headache or oh, it's Ritalin it will keep you up to study. Or, you know, here's something for your migraine headache, it could be something laced with fentanyl, and there's such tragic deaths of young people.
Speaker 1:Another thing about gratitude it's something I tried to teach my children and I'm now teaching my grandchildren, even if it's just their coloring a little bit is to write thank you notes and say something or express something positive about another person who spent time or energy or expertise or gave a gift, because that is an excellent, excellent habit. In fact, one of our guest podcasters, sylvia Morrison, is an excellent letter and note writer and has beautiful monogrammed notes and for any occasion or any event. She's very good at sending personal notes and in this day and age where people are on social media and they're texting, emailing electronically, interacting on Instagram and sending little notes, that's certainly a social connection, but I think the old fashioned thank you notes and letter writing is a good thing. So if you're grateful for what you hear on this podcast or through all of our social media channels of Speaking of Women's Health or our columns on our speakingofwomenshealthcom website, if you'd be so inclined and would like to make a monetary donation to our nonprofit Speaking of Women's Health in honor of upcoming Giving Tuesday, we would certainly appreciate this. You can be an anonymous donor. You can do it through our website. We'd be happy to list your name if you want us to. We have a Sunflower Donor Club. Many of my patients and friends have donated $1,000 or more to be in this special club, which gives some access to our wonderful lead nurse, alexandria De Los Santos Brown, who also helps coordinate our custom fit concierge program.
Speaker 1:So this year, giving Tuesday is actually Tuesday, december 3rd, and it's a global day that is fueled by the power of social media and collaboration and it harnesses the potential of social media and the generosity of people around the world to bring about real change in their communities, about real change in their communities. And I can tell you, if it wasn't for our donors including the fabulous Diane Dunkelman, who is our creative strategist and she's the founder of Speaking of Women's Health who gifted the program to us and who now is very involved in running Clever Crazes for Children, a nonprofit organization to empower and educate children, our most precious future. And this inaugural year of Giving Tuesday started back in 2012, and it's become quite a movement that celebrates and supports giving and philanthropy, with events throughout the year, and in the past I've had administrators of our Center for Specialized Women's Health do columns on Giving Tuesday. I've been thankful for several of my graduates who have donated to the program, which included their education. In fact, I just gave a lecture to physicians around the country on women's health education and specialty women's health and menopausal education. Basic consultations versus more complex consultations. The history of the 27-year fellowship that I've directed, as well as other information about our women's health educational programs and that lecture, if you're interested in viewing it. We have a lot of our candidates who are now in interview season interviewing for future positions for our fellowship. Watch that lecture. We have a link for lectures and health information for physicians on the speakingofwomenshealthcom site and you certainly don't have to be a physician or a nurse practitioner to listen to any of these.
Speaker 1:If you want to donate to Speaking of Women's Health, our nonprofit, you can click donate right at the top of the site. All of our content is completely free. Nothing is paywalled, and so we really appreciate you donating and your support will help us to continue to provide free, empowering women's health education nationwide. You can tell us who you're thankful for when you make this tax deductible donation, and your donation could be in that person's honor. Might be a nice gift for the holidays and in general. When someone supports a good cause, it usually makes you feel good, and by donating to our nonprofit, speaking of Women's Health, you will be helping to maintain our mission to help women and their families be strong, be healthy and be in charge. Women and their families be strong, be healthy and be in charge.
Speaker 1:Now, in last year's episode, which you're going to hear in just a few minutes, I shared a Thanksgiving turkey recipe with you from our founder, diane Dunkelman, and if you visit our speakingofwomenshealthcom site, you'll find even more wonderful recipes to make and share this Thanksgiving. Some of my favorites are pumpkin mousse with granola, sweet potato casserole with praline topping, butter, pecan roasted sweet potatoes, yam cornbread stuffing, colorful mashed potatoes and crescent rolls. So, without further ado and delay, here is last season's episode why Showing Gratitude is Good for your Health. From my family and my wonderful team at Speaking of Women's Health to your family, I wish you a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday filled with gratitude and joy.
Speaker 1:Welcome to the Speaking of Women's Health podcast. I am your host, dr Holly Thacker, and I am so glad to be back in the Sunflower House with you on this special podcast Thanksgiving edition. We're going to be talking about Thanksgiving and gratitude, as well as tips to staying healthy now that we're full blown into the holiday season. This is a really special day for me and my family because exactly one year ago, my grandson, lincoln Thomas Thacker, was born, and it was President Lincoln that set forth the proclamation for Americans to celebrate officially Thanksgiving, and so it's so exciting seeing him and his whole first year of life, and I'd really like to dedicate today's podcast to our sunflower donors.
Speaker 1:You are the ones that make this nonprofit of women's health. Be strong, be healthy and be in charge getting information out to hundreds of thousands of women around the world. All you need is an internet connection and you can get the most up to date women's health information. So I am so um have so much gratitude in my heart for the donors, and you can go on our speakingofwomenshealthcom site and look at our Sunflower donors. Many of them are anonymous and each and every one of you is so important. So, as we're getting towards the end of 2023, which is the year that we started this podcast in the late winter I think we have so much to be thankful for. So this is a good time to look back on our major accomplishments and then recognize all the people that have supported us and our mission throughout the year. So, as I mentioned, we're so thankful for our national supporters.
Speaker 1:Like Clever Crazes for Kids, it's a wonderful nonprofit that advances children's health, and we're grateful for each and one of you, our listeners, for each and one of you, our listeners and everyone who reads our columns, visits our sites, downloads our free treatment guidebooks, interacts with all of our social media. We have women's health events and news and contents and more. So we do work really hard year round to bring you the latest in women's health, so I hope you take advantage of all of our online content and if you're not already subscribed to our free e-newsletter, please go to speakingwomenshealthcom click at the top of the site. We have a monthly newsletter and health tips, and we include information on healthy living, healthy recipes and more. If you're on Facebook X formerly known as Twitter Instagram, linkedin, pinterest and please go visit our new Rumble channel.
Speaker 1:It's Speaking of Women's Health and you can watch these podcasts, especially when I'm interviewing people Like I interviewed the founder of Speaking of Women's Health and our chief creative strategist, diane Dunkelman, and it's just fun to kind of see the give and take with some of the people that I have the wonderful opportunity to interview. It's just fun to kind of see the give and take with some of the people that I have the wonderful opportunity to interview. I'm also very grateful for our Speaking of Women's Health contractors, our executive producer and community media manager, lee Klecker, who's also guest podcasting is just a gem. And Jonathan, who is behind the scenes the tech guy oh he is just fabulous and the whole team at our Center for Specialized Women's Health. We have the best nurses and assistants and physicians and APPs and administrative assistants. It's just a wonderful environment and for those of you who are listeners who also happen to be patients at our Center for Specialized Women's Health, you know exactly what I'm talking about. I'm also very, very grateful for my current and my past graduates. Even though I never gave birth to a daughter, I have three sons, adults, two of whom are fathers, including Lincoln's father. I feel like I have so many daughters and so many graduates keep in contact and many of them are involved in teaching and educating women. Many of them have their own exciting social media channels and are also participating in very important continuing medical education of physicians and APPs. I'm also grateful for our guest podcaster and good friend, sylvia Morrison. Her favorite holiday of the year is Thanksgiving and she worked as a chief marketing executive and really helped Speaking of Women's Health get off the ground. She got our first big event on the main campus I think it was in 2004. So she's been with the program for a long time and even though she's now enjoying a very well deserved retirement and she's got great tips on enjoying your retirement she's doing some guest podcasting for us.
Speaker 1:So Giving Tuesday this year is November 28th. If you haven't heard of Giving Tuesday. It's kind of a global day of giving that's fueled by the power of social media and collaboration and cooperation, so it kind of harnesses the potential of social media and the generosity of people around the world to bring real change in their communities. It's usually celebrated on the Tuesday following Thanksgiving because we've kind of recovered from the tryptophan haze of that great turkey, and it typically kicks off the charitable season when many people focus on their holiday and their end of year giving. And since its inaugural year in 2012, giving Tuesdays become a big movement that celebrates and supports giving and philanthropy events throughout the year.
Speaker 1:Several years ago I started with a letter thanking my patients, telling them how grateful I was for them and the nonprofit Speaking of Women's Health and even though I appreciate cards and letters and people will send me pictures of their family and some people will deliver, you know, homemade baked treats for my staff or sometimes send food or gifts. What I've asked from my grateful patients and supporters, save all that great stuff for your family. And if you're able to consider supporting Speaking of Women's Health on Giving Tuesday, that would mean so much. And any amount, the smallest amount to larger amounts, I can guarantee you will be well used and only utilized for advancing this nonprofit to empower women to be strong, be healthy and be in charge, and there's a lot of different ways you can do it. The easiest way, probably, is just going on the Speaking of Women's Health site and just click that donate button. All of our content is free to everyone, so we really appreciate you donating to the nonprofit. It also serves as a vehicle not only to educate women but to educate healthcare clinicians, and so your support will help us continue to provide free health education nationwide. You can also tell us who you're thankful for when you make your tax-deductible donation to Speaky on Women's Health, and your donation will be in that person's honor or cause, and I think supporting a good cause, it makes us feel good and your donation will be in that person's honor or cause, and I think supporting a good cause, it makes us feel good, and by donating to Speaking of Women's Health, you'll help us maintain our mission to help women and their entire families.
Speaker 1:In addition to just charities, volunteering is another wonderful way to give back and I think finding either a charity or an organization or even some social or community or local event that you're passionate about and getting involved and just thinking outside yourself and helping others can make you feel so much better about yourself and life. So that brings me to gratitude. Most people are so busy and working so hard and I find myself sometimes getting caught up in just the business of life running a home. But I encourage all of us to take some time to enjoy, over the holidays, our families and friends and to separate ourselves from chores and work and especially separate ourselves from all those electronic devices. I think it's a really good habit to just turn off your phone and just engage with others. I mean, my rule at the dinner table and it's not only the Thanksgiving dinner table is to turn off that phone. Not only the Thanksgiving dinner table is to turn off that phone.
Speaker 1:And in my family what we do on every Thanksgiving is we go around the table and we just tell everyone what we're thankful for. It doesn't have to be anything big, it could be something small, it could be something major, and I think to tell people that you care about, that you're grateful to have them in your life, is important, and one of the benefits of being grateful is grateful people are happy people, and this was one of the top findings of the Harvard Adult Development Study, which is one of the longest running studies on happiness and health in the world, spanning a century and a couple generations of Americans. So grateful people live longer and they tend to be healthier overall. So everyone should learn how to practice gratitude, and I mean sincere gratitude. I mean you all know those people maybe potentially co-workers at some locations who just go through and mouth the words. It's very important to be honest and sincere because we can tell, people can tell, and I think telling yourself, as well as saying out loud what you're grateful for, is helpful.
Speaker 1:Some people like to journal and write things down in a daily journal or even just to write thank you notes. I think that's a lost art. I love to write personalized notes, even though my handwriting is like atrocious physician's handwriting, and that's one thing I taught my sons to do. And writing out a note as opposed to just a quick text um, I think is is is more meaningful. Um, maybe I'm showing my old fashionedness, but, and sharing your gratitude and happiness with others, like saying thank you to a stranger, um, people who who um are pleasant and engaging, generally report more happiness. Now, sometimes, I know, situations can be extremely difficult and challenging yourself. To be grateful in difficult circumstances can sometimes be hard, but usually, no matter how difficult something is, you can find something small to be grateful for, and I think doing this can help cope and deal with really hard situations.
Speaker 1:Now, in addition to Thanksgiving and Turkey Day and we have some good turkey recipes that we'll talk about this time of year marks the beginning of a lot of holidays and celebrations. It's the beginning of Hanukkah, the Festival of Lights and the Feast of Dedication that lasts for eight days and nights. It's also the beginning of the holiday season, with Christmas just barely a month away, and the last several weeks of the year mark such great celebrations. I'm really looking forward to going on our Polar Express trip the book the Polar Express about believing and being able to hear the Christmas bell. I shared that with my children and my youngest son, grayson. We took him and the older boys and when Santa came through and and said what do you want for Christmas young boy, a Batman watch. So this year we're taking three-year-old Artemis and her best friend Josephina. And's going to be so much fun to see the joy in their face and just the excitement and the anticipation and, of course, the meaning behind celebrating the holiday.
Speaker 1:And I think that family rituals, faith, spirituality all of those things do promote health and wellness. Superficial aspects, and the parties and buying gifts and rushing out on the day after Thanksgiving, stampeding to get the latest you know toy or object that's probably going to be discarded before you know it. So I think, giving thanks for our many blessings, celebrating important traditions, finding out what other people do, because people celebrate different family traditions, have different faiths, different activities. It's also a great time to reach out to loved ones and others in the community, as well as visit places of worship. But we all know that the holidays can also be a time for stress time, crunches, overeating all the party food and overspending. And it's very important to budget. It's very important to keep regular schedules, regular sleep cycles. So here's some tips we're going to go over about how you can stay healthy and happy and still make the most of your holiday season. So remember the reason for the season, faith, family, country and just simple reaffirmation of our love for our family and friends. It makes up the heart and soul of our holiday celebrations.
Speaker 1:And don't overeat and regret what you've eaten. Just take time to taste some food, savor it, sample, especially with the heavy foods and the desserts. I always say that you know, as we get older, we've kind of had a lot of desserts in our life and kind of it's time to outgrow them. Maybe just take a little piece and save some or share some. And it's always nice to have good leftovers later. And I think putting down your fork and engaging in conversation is very important Controlling your portion.
Speaker 1:Intake smaller plates I have some very fun little tiny plates for the holidays and always avoid extreme hunger and thirst. It's always good to drink some water before you eat or go to a party. Maybe have a high-protein snack. Now some people find food confessions writing down everything they eat helpful. Our guest podcaster, sylvia, does that. I certainly I could write in a daily journal, but I can't. I can't do that. So what works for one person doesn't necessarily work for another. Regarding spending, please stay within your budget. It's really time and attention and making memories and recalling and remembering cherished family memories that really make the holidays so special, not the material aspects Keeping to routines, not just small children, but older children and older people too.
Speaker 1:We all need sleep and exercise, staying on your prescribed supplements or medications and avoiding excessive alcohol, caffeine, sugar, processed fats, high salt food, sugar processed fats, high salt food, the seed oils. Regular exercise. If you want glowing skin for the holidays, you've got to get your heart rate up and build some muscle with both aerobic and strength training activities, and we've got some good information on our website and podcast on exercise for many different people, ages and conditions. Practice saying no. I don't think women in general are as good at that. Saying no to non-essentials, pacing yourself and just realize that you can't fit in.
Speaker 1:All parties, events, volunteering, hosting, making homemade cookies volunteering hosting, making homemade cookies. My girlfriend and our guest podcaster, sylvia she gave me a really wonderful gift, which was a small little plate with a bubbly, smiling woman say please stop me before I volunteer again. And every time Artemis is at my house and she sees that, she points to it and she's like that's my mommy. She thinks it's her mother because there's pictures, of course, of her family and all the family members at my house Getting together. Even though it's a happy time, sometimes you might not have as much time to spend with faraway relatives, and asking family members blood relatives about their medical history can be an opportune time to politely ask about medical histories because they can be very important and helpful to your health care team.
Speaker 1:If you're someone who suffers from holiday blues or seasonal affective disorder, or if you feel depressed during the winter holidays, it's very important to seek help. Certainly, healthy eating, exercise and bright light. Some nutritional supplements and boosting vitamin D can go a long way, and some people do need more intensive treatments, and don't be afraid to ask for help. So we have some wonderful recipes on our site and one of them is by our founder, lady Di Diane Dunkelman, her favorite Thanksgiving turkey recipe, and she gives the different cooking times, whether it's an eight pound turkey all the way up to a 24 pound turkey, preheating the oven to 450 degrees, removing those giblets in the neck and then rinsing that turkey and patting it dry and rubbing the skin of the turkey with olive oil and the skin of the turkey with olive oil. Olive oil is so heart healthy. If you haven't listened to my Omega-3 and olive oil podcast, that would be a good one to listen to.
Speaker 1:And then she recommends stuffing the cavity with a heel of bread, some celery stalks, a whole onion peeled and an apple, and fresh sage or rosemary are great herbs to use. And then wrap the turkey in heavy foil two ways, scrunch it but not airtight, and then place it in a roasting pan about two inches deep and cook it at 450 degrees, according to size, until the meat thermometer reads about 180 to 185 degrees. Open the foil to brown for the last 40 minutes and for easy slicing, cover it with foil and let it stand after removing it from the oven for 15 minutes. So we've had lots of turkey stories in my family, from the time that we smoked out the house, to the one year that the turkey was undercooked and we got food poisoning, to last year's Thanksgiving that we had in a Cincinnati hospital. We had in a Cincinnati hospital and it kind of changed our plans because Lincoln came a little bit early, but it was so, so exciting.
Speaker 1:So, from my family to yours and from our wonderful team at Speaking of Women's Health and the Center for Specialized Women's Health, may you enjoy good tidings and great joy with your loved ones, and I just want to again share my gratitude with you, our listeners, and I hope that you, if you don't already subscribe to Speaking of Women's Health, hit the follow or subscribe button on your podcast app and give us a five-star rating and if you're so inclined to make a donation this holiday season or Giving Tuesday, you can go to speakingofwomenshealthcom, and I hope that you'll join me again back in the Sunflower House.
