HouseCall: Gluten-Free Baking, Fibroids, Health Schools, Goiters & Goitrogenic Foods, Bacopa

Welcome back!

Today we’ll be starting Part 1 of this weekend’s Cabral #HouseCalls where we answer our community’s questions.

Here are today’s questions:

Kerry: Please give me your thoughts on rice flour (looking for gluten-free options) I was tempted to buy sprout brown rice flour but remembered that it’s recommended to have rice sparingly due to the natural arsenic in it. Is this something I should limit or use at all?

Anon: Hi Dr. Cabral, What is your take on fibroids? I performed a quick search for previous podcasts on this topic and didn’t see anything come up. I was diagnosed with two 11-14 cm fibroids in October 2016, which were symptomatic (pelvic pain, heavy periods, discomfort from working out, etc.). After visiting my gynecologist, I was told that I would need to have an open myomectomy to have them removed, especially if I want to have children. I am a 35-year-old African American woman with no children but plans to have children. Long story short, I opted to go the holistic route of shrinking the growths. I used Fibro Defense for uterine health, systemic enzymes, which I now take every day, I increased my intake of raw green foods (I was born and raised as a vegetarian with a solid plant-based diet) and wheatgrass shots. Since my symptoms seemed to be getting worse, and I want to plan to start having children with my fiance this year, I opted for a minimally invasive myomectomy. Turns out, I only had one 14 cm fibroid and one very small one that was not removed. Do you know what really causes fibroids? Are they estrogen-dependent? I stopped taking my birth control in December 2016 and have continued to up my enzyme intake with plant foods and supplementation. My hope is that this second-growth doesn’t result in another surgery. Many thanks!

Fabienne: Dear Dr. Cabral, my name is Fabienne and I am reaching out to you all the way from Luxembourg, Europe. I’ve been listening to your podcasts and I would like to thank you for all the work that you do. I genuinely appreciate all the information you put out there. I am currently doing a health coaching program with IIN; I believe in the value of nutrition and would like to dig deeper into the area of holistic health and functional medicine. I do have a job at the moment so enrolling at a university abroad is not an option, therefore I would like to study with a distance learning program. My problem is that I find so many inspiring and seemingly meaningful schools and programs, that it’s a bit overwhelming for me to choose one. Are there any schools or programs that you could recommend to someone who’s just starting out in that field? I’ve found a curriculum that seems really interesting, it’s with the “New Eden School of Clinical Natural Medicine” and it is called “Certified Naturopath in Functional Approaches (C.N.F.A) An impressive non-doctorate professional diploma program in Functional Naturopathy. A science-based curriculum that combines Naturopathy and Functional Medicine. Requirements: High school education or GED” Would you say this is a good program? I am willing to learn, so it’s not a question of workload, but rather one of: is this a good program? Or are there others I should look into? There are also quite a lot of German schools that offer online courses (and I remember you saying that you wish you had had the opportunity to do some training in Germany), maybe I should stick to one of those? I hope you can help me out, there is so much information out there that it is a bit exhaustive and I don’t really know who to ask as most practitioners in Luxembourg have done their education in French, not English or German. Thanks again for everything. I understand if you do not wish to promote any schools in particular, so I won’t hold it against you if you can’t reply 😉

Sandra: I have Hashimoto’s disease and have been told not to eat raw cruciferous vegetables. I also have a few nodules And a cyst, nonmalignant, on my thyroid so as not to consume too much sugar including fruit. My question is- will green powder be ok to add to morning shake?

Isabelle: Hello! I have a question about Bacopa manner (or Brahmi). I was wondering if you have any experiences using this herb? Any possible side effects? And would you recommend it for its alleged brain benefits? Thanks so much, from Isabelle

Thank you for tuning into today’s Cabral HouseCall and be sure to come back tomorrow where we answer more of our community’s questions!