Get answers to your most sought-after nutrition and wellness questions

I’m thrilled to announce my partnership with Dr Josh Axe! We’ll be doing an exclusive Q&A with the Rewire Me community. Dr Axe’s comprehensive approach to health and wellness has helped me in my mission to lead a more nutritious, health-conscious life, and I’m excited to be able to share this amazing resource with you!

Dr Josh Axe, DNM, DC, CNS, has a passion to help people get well by using food as medicine. He founded one of the largest functional medicine clinics in the world, in Nashville, Tennessee, and has been a physician for many professional athletes. He operates one of the world’s largest natural health websites for healthy recipes, herbal remedies, nutrition and fitness advice, essential oils and natural supplements: DrAxe.com. He is the author of the groundbreaking health book Eat Dirt, which uncovers hidden causes and cures of leaky gut syndrome. Dr Axe is an expert in digestive health, functional medicine, natural remedies and dietary strategies for healing. He has been featured on the Dr Oz Show, CBS and NBC, and has his own Eat Dirt program on select PBS TV stations.

I’m giving you the opportunity to get answers to your most sought-after questions about nutrition and wellness. Submit questions to asktheexpert@rewireme.com.

Dr Axe has already answered several reader questions, and will be taking submissions until Friday, March 24. Don’t miss the opportunity to rewire your health. Dr Axe is looking forward to hearing your questions!

Here’s how it works…

Submit your questions to Dr Axe in the below form. Rewire Me will compile a Q&A and publish it to our site the week of March 27. Stay tuned to hear his valuable advice.

*Please note submissions will remain anonymous – all names and emails will not be listed in the Q&A.

Ask Away!

[gravityform id=”3″ title=”true” description=”true”]

Here are the first of our reader Q&A’s with Dr Axe:

I’ve struggled with my weight for years and tried all the diets out there, but nothing seems to work for me. Sometimes I can lose the weight, but then I can’t keep it off. Any tips?

One of the keys to maintaining weight loss is to avoid diets and adopt a total lifestyle change that is sustainable. Because you’ve been able to lose weight before, I am assuming that your issues are less about physiological concerns that make it difficult to lose weight in the first place – like thyroid issues or leaky gut, for example – and more about you straying from the methods that helped you to drop the pounds initially.

Going forward, I recommend a non-diet approach to weight loss. I wrote an article detailing 49 easy lifestyle shifts to help you lose weight fast, but I’ll summarize a few key points here:

First, you need to get active. The good news is that you don’t have to spend two or three hours in the gym every day to get results. High intensity interval training (HIIT) workouts are the most effective for burning fat for two reasons: during the workout, the changes in intensity keep your body guessing, which ramps up the fat burn. And then, once the workout is over, your body continues to burn fat for up to 48 additional hours, thanks to something known as the afterburn effect. Because of these factors, HIIT workouts burn much more fat than traditional cardio exercise, and they do it in less time. Three 30-45 minute HIIT workouts per week is all you need. And that’s something you should be able to maintain going forward.

When it comes to diet, you need to eliminate processed foods and added sugars. But instead of focusing on what you can’t eat, focus on what you can. And if you fill your plate with healing foods – like lots of produce; wild-caught salmon; organic, grass-fed beef; fermented foods like sauerkraut and kimchi; and whole grains like sprouted quinoa and brown rice – you’ll be surprised at the delicious meals you can prepare that will help you continue to burn fat.

Make sure you get enough protein (.7 to 1 gram per pound of body weight) and fiber (30 to 40 grams daily), as those two nutrients are most likely to derail your efforts if you don’t get enough. And to lose weight even faster, try incorporating foods like grapefruit, green tea, coconut oil and apple cider vinegar that have known fat-burning capabilities.

Finally, make sure you get enough sleep. Studies have proven that sleep-deprivation leads to weight gain, so be sure to clock 7 to 9 hours per night. And if you have trouble falling asleep, try one of these 20 tips to help you fall asleep fast.

Are there any natural ways to suppress my appetite?

Absolutely. Here are three suggestions:

Grapefruit essential oil – Grapefruit has long been known as a weight loss food because of its natural antioxidants and enzymes that reduce appetite, minimize cravings and trigger lipolysis (fat metabolism). And with grapefruit essential oil, you can reap those benefits without eating a ton of grapefruit. Trying diffusing it in your office or home, or mixing with a carrier oil (like coconut) and rubbing it directly onto your wrists or temples.

Green tea extract – Green tea has been shown to be effective in both boosting metabolism and suppressing appetite. In fact, a study comparing a group of people consuming green tea with a group that wasn’t found that the green tea group had significantly lower levels of the hunger hormone ghrelin. Note: If using green tea extract, don’t take more than 800-900 mg per day.

High-fiber foods – Foods high in fiber will make you feel fuller longer, so they should be a significant part of any weight loss eating plan. Some of my favorites include chia and flax seeds, legumes and veggies.

My acne is getting worse and I’m thinking stress and my diet could be contributing to it. What are some anti-inflammatory foods that can help?

I wrote an article listing the top 15 anti-inflammatory foods, based on levels of antioxidants, minerals and essential fatty acids. They are:

1. Green leafy vegetables
2. Bok choy
3. Celery
4. Beets
5. Broccoli
6. Blueberries
7. Pineapple
8. Salmon
9. Bone Broth
10. Walnuts
11. Coconut Oil
12. Chia Seeds
13. Flax Seeds
14. Turmeric
15. Ginger

I recommend incorporating these foods into your diet as much as possible.

And if stress is a major concern, I also suggest supplementing with an adaptogen herb like ashwagandha or holy basil, also known as tulsi. Chronic stress can cause significant damage to your health, and adaptogens are a special class of healing plants that help the body to respond to any outside influence or stressor by normalizing your physiological response.

Rose Caiola
Inspired. Rewired.