Culinary Medicine and Thyroid Health with Dr. Melinda Ring

EPISODE 111

“Having a healthy diet will prevent disease down the road.” – Dr. Melinda Ring

Integrative medicine always starts with lifestyle. Even with the highest quality supplements and treatments, such as acupuncture and energy therapy, they’ll do very little if we’re not addressing nutrition and the other foundational pillars of good health. Finding the proper diet for you is critical to feeling better and maintaining optimal long-term health.

Today, I’m excited to be joined by Dr. Melinda Ring, a dedicated physician specializing in integrative health, culinary medicine, functional medicine, and lifestyle medicine. She has an active clinical practice, directs medical trainee education and clinical and faculty fellowships in integrative medicine, founded the Cooking Up Health culinary medicine course, and conducts research.

In this conversation, Dr. Melinda and I discuss culinary medicine and its role in healthcare. We talk about the importance of whole foods in overall health, how to incorporate healthy eating habits into daily life, ways to increase variety in the diet, why Dr. Melinda advocates for individualized nutrition, how to start addressing lifestyle factors, and more. Enjoy the episode!

About Dr. Melinda Ring

Dr. Melinda Ring is Director of Osher Center for Integrative Health, and Clinical Associate Professor, Departments of Medicine and Medical Social Sciences at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. She has an active clinical practice, directs medical trainee education and clinical and faculty fellowships in integrative medicine, founded the Cooking Up Health culinary medicine course, and conducts research.

Dr. Ring contributes to textbooks, research articles in the field of Women’s Health and Integrative Medicine, has published several books on integrative medicine including The Natural Menopause Solution, and is a frequent contributor to news outlets.She is chair of the board of the American Board of Integrative Medicine. In 2021 she received the Bravewell Distinguished Service Award from the Academic Consortium for Integrative Medicine and Health, one of the highest honors in the field of integrative health.

During this episode, you’ll learn about:

The evolution of Dr. Melinda’s interest in culinary medicine
Teaching culinary medicine to healthcare practitioners
How Dr. Melinda incorporates culinary medicine into her practice
The role of food in recovery from autoimmune and other health conditions
How to increase variety in the diet, especially for picky eaters
Limitations of fruit and vegetable powders and why they’re not a good substitute for whole foods
Considerations for cooking methods and how they affect the nutritional content of food
Dr. Melinda’s top three spices and their many therapeutic benefits
The debate on avoiding gluten forever
Considering the quality of gluten-free and dairy-free alternatives
Finding balance and the need for individualized approaches based on genetic and gut factors

Connect with Dr. Melinda Ring

Mentioned in this episode

Free resources for your thyroid health

Get your FREE Thyroid and Immune Health Restoration Action Points Checklist at SaveMyThyroidChecklist.com

Do You Want Help Saving Your Thyroid?

Click Here to access hundreds of free articles and blog posts.

Click Here for Dr. Eric’s YouTube channel

Click Here to join Dr. Eric’s Graves’ disease and Hashimoto’s group

Click Here to work with Dr. Eric

Listen to the episode on your favorite app

Click Here To listen to this episode on Apple Podcasts

Click Here To listen to this episode on Spotify

Click Here to listen to the episode on Google Podcasts

Episode - Culinary Medicine and Thyroid Health with Dr. Melinda Ring