The confusion over diet or nutrition is because patients have no idea what to eat. It's not a lack of money or a busy schedule. A physician assistant turned culinary and nutrition educator, Shefaly Ravula provides a personalized approach to her patients to develop their diet plan. When her father, a vegetarian and a thin man, had a heart attack, she was left perplexed. It was an example of TOFI - thin outside, fat inside. The experience made her immerse herself to study nutrition for cardiac health. She also studied cardiology and even lipidology. She attended different conferences on integrative medicine, functional medicine, and culinary medicine. She now focuses on teaching food-as-medicine cooking classes. Her desire is to help address diseases with the right food to eat. She continues to work with cardiologists and gastroenterologists to help the patients improve their health through proper diet.Quick guide2:36 Guest’s background5:50 The decision to be a cooking instructor11:59 The purer the food, the more we can enjoy it14:05 TOFI - thin on the outside, fat on the inside15:42 A health perspective centered on food19:12 The profile of patients in her practice21:38 Food-as-Medicine Academy26:39 Her role in the present healthcare system31:17 What’s that one thing we have to do35:34 The power of learning to cook38:40 Our connection to the food we eat44:22 Most medicinally powerful foods47:19 How can this be affordable for peopleGet to know our guestShefaly Ravula is a board-certified physician associate with a career in conventional and alternative medicine. As young as 9 years old, her mother taught her how to make Indian food. Without proper culinary background, she used to spend hours watching Food Network to learn about cooking. She believes cooking classes empower people. Her food-as-medicine classes allow her to share her knowledge in both medicine and nutrition and guide patients with the proper diet.“You have to get it's the mindset like, do we need to be having the cigarettes that costs blah, blah, blah, and do we need to be having that Frappuccino? Cut that out. And you could get yourself a really nice piece of salmon.” - Shefaly RavulaConnect with herShef’s Kitchen website: https://shefskitchen.com/Episode snippets9:13 - 9:45 - Flavor is important to help in patient care10:34 - 11:03 - Condiments are key15:42 - 16:56 - Teaching food as medicine19:12 - 19:50 - Solve nutrition ambiguity22:15 - 23:14 - FODMAP diet26:53 - 28:04 - Interaction with the healthcare system at present31:17 - 32:03 - Cut out inflammatory foods36:00 - 37:04 - The importance of cooking skills49:39 - 50:17 - Change in mindset for the younger generationConnect with Dr. Ovadia:TwitteriFixHearts WebsiteStay Off My Operating Table WebsiteAmazon Theme Song : Rage AgainstWritten & Performed by Logan Gritton & Colin Gailey(c) 2016 Mercury Retro RecordingsProduced by 38atoms & Jack Heald