Gentry's Journey
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Gentry's Journey
How A Physician-Turned-Coach Tackles Hypertension With Food, Fitness, And Accountability
A Navy uniform in a mall window set off a chain of choices that led from boot camp to med school—and then to a new kind of healing grounded in prevention, food, and steady habits. We sit down with Dr. Chi Chi to unpack how a hypertension scare, the grind of residency applications, and stories of physician burnout reshaped her approach to care and to her own life. The result is a practical playbook for anyone who’s tired of feeling overprescribed and under-supported.
We get specific about the hidden traps in modern care: rushed visits, fragmented charts, and the ease of piling on duplicate medications. Real cases—triple beta blockers from three clinics, years of NSAID use quietly harming kidneys—show why self-advocacy and medication literacy matter. From there, we shift to what works: co-created goals, tiny wins, and strength training to protect muscle as we age. Dr. Chi Chi shares how a trainer can double your perceived limits, why hydration needs to be personalized, and how to design routines that are too simple to skip.
Food takes center stage. We talk about herbs that reduce sodium dependence, the difference between fueling recovery and inflaming your system after a workout, and why the “I exercised, so I earned fast food” mindset backfires. The sugar segment is candid: craving is real, cancer cells love glucose, and vague advice to “eat whatever” during treatment can hurt more than help. We also explore her morning celery juice practice—fresh-pressed, simple, sometimes softened with green apple—and the community challenges that make it stick. Listeners will leave with clear steps, from bringing every pill bottle to appointments to trying a 7-day reset that builds momentum without overwhelm.
Want more support? Grab the free 21-day Love Your Health guide at RejuvenateInHealth.com and follow Chi Chi Health on Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook for programs, tips, and the 31-day celery juice challenge. If this conversation helped, subscribe, share it with a friend, and leave a review to help others find the show.
Good afternoon, good morning, everyone. Um welcome to Gentry's Journey, and our guest today is Dr. Chi Chi Izel. And she's K. E ZK. I beg your pardon. But she is um and she's going to tell us about how she discovered that's what she wanted to be, uh, what she has accomplished, and she's going to end up telling us about her wellness journey and what she does with wellness. So, Dr. Chi Chi, we do appreciate your time for coming on to Gentry's Journey to speak with the audience. So you have the floor. Thank you.
SPEAKER_00:All right, thank you, Ms. Coleman, for having me. I really appreciate your time.
SPEAKER_01:Thank you.
SPEAKER_00:So, just like everybody else, um, you know, that come on your podcast, I'm sure that they have, you know, great time. So I'm looking forward to having a great time with you.
SPEAKER_01:Absolutely.
SPEAKER_00:Well, first, first, I wanted to um, you know, introduce myself. My name is Dr. Chichi, no angko a ZK. Um, I was originally born in Houston, Texas. I grew up in Nigeria, so that's you know where the accent um came from.
SPEAKER_01:Okay, all right.
SPEAKER_00:So after, you know, um staying in Nigeria about 17 years of age, I graduated high school. My parents decided that I needed to go back to my place of birth. And so I came back to Houston, um, studied um undergrad at Texas Southern University. And I was actually studying uh pre-pharmacy, but you know, it was not really my heart. I wanted to go into medicine. And so, you know, as I'm talking to everybody else, you know, all my friends are either pharmacy in doing um pre-pharmacy or they are studying biology to go to medical school. So at that point, I decided, you know, that I wanted to join Navy, had no idea what Navy was all about, have no idea what the military does except in my mind, they go to war. That's it. But, you know, I I actually, you know, the idea was for me to leave Houston, but I just didn't know how to leave Houston after being there for about two and a half years. So I got an undergrad internship at the University of Michigan, Annabor. So I went there, I did the research for the summer, I enjoyed it. I was like, man, I love this place. I wanted to leave. And so when I came back to Houston, the whole idea of leaving just keep you know nudging on me. But I just don't know. I mean, you know, 19-year-old, 20-year-old, you know, I have no idea how to start packing up to leave, you know.
SPEAKER_04:Sure.
SPEAKER_00:So I went to the mall one day. I got off uh after school, I went to the mall just to, you know, just browse around. And I saw some pictures. And I'm looking at these pictures and I see pictures of military people, and you know, you have the Navy, the Air Force, the Marine, the Army, you know, the Coast Guard. And I'm looking at them like, man. So I kept trying to imagine myself, you know, wearing the uniform. And the only one that really suit me well was the Navy uniform. That's right. So I walked into the office and I'm looking at the, you know, the name, you know, uh on the door, and I saw the Navy. So I walked in, I said I wanted to join the Navy. And they were like, you know, and they're looking at me with my long hair, you know, like all little decked up girls saying that she wants to join the Navy. And the guy was like, you know, you should go think about it and come back. I'm like, no, I don't want to think about it. I just want to sign up. So I signed up, you know. So after I signed up, you know, uh to join the Navy, I took the first test, I passed it, and he said, okay, go home, come back and take the second test. I said, no, I want to take the second test now. So I took the second test. And so, anyway, long story short, that's how I joined the Navy.
SPEAKER_01:Well, one thing for sure, you knew what you wanted.
SPEAKER_00:I know, right? I wanted to wear the white uniform.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, they can tell you not to join, you know, you did that what you wanted to do.
SPEAKER_00:So I yeah, so I joined the Navy, and um, you know, again, I didn't, they asked me, okay, what kind of job do you want to do? And I was like, you know, I wanted to go into the medical field, but at the time the medical field was closed. So they were like, okay, you know, we have another job for you. So they, you know, told me I'm gonna be a supply keeper. I have no idea what supply keeper was, you know. So I joined, got there, um, got to boot camp. And, you know, of course, you know, after the whole book, I I it was actually in boot camp that I called my parents and told them that I joined the Navy. Oh wow, they didn't know, yes, and they did not know. So my dad was like, What do you mean you joined the Navy? So he thought that I'm like, you know, maybe working in the Navy as a civilian. I'm like, no, I joined drawing. So he was like, wow. But anyways, at the end of the day, you know, I finished boot camp, went to A school, and then I got stationed in Pennsylvania. So it was in Pennsylvania that I was like, you know, my passion of being a doctor, this is what I'm going to pursue. Now that I'm outside of Houston, you know, outside of kind of like my comfort zone, I need to start pursuing my own, you know, dream. And so that's how I went in and I I um um enrolled as a biology student. Um, so it just happened that by the time I was graduating from biology was the same time that I was finishing up with the Navy. So I finished my four years of you know um service. I went to medical school in the Caribbean. I did two years in the Caribbean and then came to Chicago and completed my last two years. And, you know, that's where my life as, you know, as a medical student or as you know, a doctor started. And, you know, of course, in the process, I got married. Um, I got married, and so while I was trying to apply to residency, I moved to Canada because at the time my husband lived in Canada. So I, you know, I moved to Canada with him. And so I was you know, studying for my board exams and also applying for residency. And it kind of you know became a lot, you know, as far as you know, it's not too kind, quote unquote, to say, you know, um, the residency wasn't too kind because at the time it's almost like, you know, as a um foreign graduate, it was a little harder to get into residency. But, you know, as God would have it, and I think, you know, during that time, even though I was, you know, a lot depressed because I went to medical school and I'm like, you know, I really love medicine. I want to be a doctor, I want to help patients. I, you know, I came across a friend of mine that was like, hey, you know, um, join this Facebook group, you know, it's a physician, you know, Facebook, and maybe tell your story there and see if somebody will help you out. And so when I joined them and I started, you know, hearing stories about them as a physician and how people are burnt out, you know, people are, you know, dying, divorces on the you know, horizon. I was just like, hold up, this is not what I signed up for. You know, so it gave me a different perspective as far as medicine is concerned. And so I now started changing my prayer. So my prayer now wasn't God, didn't I really want to get into residency? My prayer became, God, what is the next step? What do you have in store for me?
SPEAKER_04:Sure.
SPEAKER_00:And you know, so from there I started teaching, um, and I started loving, you know, teaching. I actually went into research at first. I did research for about three years, and you know, from there I started teaching, you know, um, college students, and and ever since then I've been in teaching, you know. So from the teaching, actually, I had my daughter um 2019, and so two years um after I had her, or right before she turned to, you know, I was exercising. So my arm, you know, after I finished exercising, I was just kind of like, you know, stretching my arm. And so my right arm kind of got stuck in the air. So I got scared, you know. I thought I was having stroke. I was like, why? You know, so it was hurting so bad. So I was nursing it. But in my mind, I was like, you know, if you're having stroke, it's not painful. Um, but I just needed to um figure out what's happening to me. So at the end of the day, I went to my you know, PCP and you know, they checked my blood pressure and it was, you know, really, really high. And I couldn't understand why it was high, you know, because at the time I thought, you know, I'm exercising, I'm eating healthy. So why should you know my blood pressure be high? So at the end of the day, he was like, Well, we gotta put you on medication. And I said, give me some time. Um, let me just, you know, kind of figure this whole thing out. So I was still breastfeeding my daughter. And it was kind of you know hard to find medication that wouldn't cross you know the breast milk. So he was like, Well, you know, think about you know stopping uh breastfeeding your daughter and then you know, come back so we can you know start your med. So I finally, you know, um win her off. And while I was still obviously, you know, trying to figure this whole thing out, that's when I found um an institution called IIN. I I N. So basically it's an institution um for integrative um health nutrition, something like that. I forgot the exact um name. But so I was researching them and then I realized that wow, you know, a lot of people were giving a lot of you know uh testimonies how they have been able to reverse their chronic illnesses, you know, because of the the you know studies that or the lessons that they got from the institute. So I was like, okay, so I called them up and I, you know, talked to the you know, the against the administrative and I enrolled and I started learning about you know nutrition. So my idea was just to go in, learn about it, and then you know be able to help myself. But in the process, you know, they talked about you know having as a business. I was like, I you know, uh I don't have time for business. I'm working, I have you know, four kids, yeah, I can't do business.
SPEAKER_01:I get it. I mean, yeah, it seems to be a bit overwhelming. Once you step your foot in the pot, it gets going.
SPEAKER_00:Yes, yes. And so, you know, and that's basically how the whole, so I went in um after I graduated uh from it. And okay, so you know, just go back a little bit when I was when I was diagnosed with high blood pressure. So I you know, I called some of my friends and I was crying on the phone, like, I can't believe I have high blood pressure, you know, with all these things, I mean, I'm working out, I'm doing all this. And you know, a few of them were like, oh, welcome to the club. I have high blood pressure too. I was like, what? So, you know, I mean, we are in our early 40s. At the time, I was 42. So, you know, having been diagnosed with high blood pressure is almost like a club. You know, I was like, oh no, that's not good. And so, and that's when I was like, okay, no, this is not happening because if people are having you know high blood pressure at this early stage, again, remember when I was in medical school, I was in my 20s. And so people in their 40s at the time look old. And I used to see them, you know, they're coming with their bag of medications and other. So now that I, you know, I'm in my 40s and I'm seeing myself that I'm still vibrant, I'm still young, now it dawned on me that a lot of people are being diagnosed with high blood pressure at that age. So there has to be something going on.
SPEAKER_03:Sure.
SPEAKER_00:And so that's when uh um the whole idea of starting my own business and using my story um to kind of, you know, because uh you know a lot of times uh, you know, people can identify with what you're saying because they understand your story.
SPEAKER_01:Sure.
SPEAKER_00:And so that's how my business, you know, rejuvenate integrative health and wellness was born.
SPEAKER_01:That is wonderful. You know, um I'm like you. I got diagnosed, I felt like it was an incidental finding because I had a sinus infection and I was working night shift, so I found someone who could see me at like 7:30 in the morning, and which was that's hard to do, you know. And I'm in a medical city. So this particular clinic opened up at seven o'clock in the morning. I was like, perfect. So I got in and he was doing an exam, and he said, Oh man, this is the worst science infection I've ever seen. I was like, gee, thanks. And um in that, he took, he told me, your blood pressure's up. I said, My blood pressure's up. He was like, Get up, like how? And I was like, maybe it's the stress of the infection, maybe you know, it's just a precursor to all that. Well, I take to Norman for my travail prolapse, but I only take a half, and so he was like, You might need to get back on that because I had I came off because I didn't have any signs or symptoms, and I was checking on my blood pressure regularly, and then it's back up. So here we go again, starting from day one. So a lot of times we are walking around and we really are feeling good, and you know, so it came back into my mind, the silent killer. And I was like, I don't want him, I don't want none of this touching me. So I'm like, you I gotta do better. So once I said, once I get over this sinus infection, I'm going to start back to walking, I'm going to start back doing what I need to do. Because when you change shifts, that changes your whole routine, not just at home, but you know, um, you know, your social routine that changes everything. So I'm like you. Um, you have to adopt a healthier living in order to have a healthy life. Yeah, yeah. So um that's where I am now. Back to exercising daily because before COVID, I was exercising five, six days a week. It was not a big deal. But after COVID, you know, everything changed. Everything changed. So I'm with you. And so I am watching my blood pressure, and I'm back down to normal, but I'm drinking more fluids, um, exercising more regularly. And um, I've always been a decent eater, you know, eating from all the food groups. Okay. So I try I don't over-end, I'm I'm not one of those people that has to have salt, you know, add salt. You cook with salt, but I don't have to add salt to my to my food. I just think that's overkill. So just things like that. So we can, and if it's you and I surprised that we have high blood pressure, it's somebody else out there who's gonna be surprised that they have it as well.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah.
SPEAKER_01:So so go ahead with um your integrated health.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, so the integrative health is um for me, is one of those um, you know, again, I call it a business, but it's also a passion for me, just knowing that um, you know, with our healthcare system, okay, we call it what it is, we we take our medications, but that medication that you're taking have other side effects. And so and you have to take you know other medication to combat the side effect of the first one. You know, and so before you know it, you have you know, you go from one medication to three to four to five, you know, so and then you know, and it's a never-ending cycle. And so for me, you know, just learning about you know our body, having to heal our body from the cellular level. And if you are able to heal your body from the cellular level, you know, all this medication, and that's the goal, you know, that you're able to um, not you winning yourself, but of course, you know, your physician, excuse me, um, taking you off the medications. So, and that's one of the things for me is um having to educate people. Um, you know, let them understand that food is very powerful, food can heal you, and food can also kill you. And so you choose your poison, you know, like my trainer will tell me, you know, every time we are doing weightlifting, he's like, you know, pick your poison. So you pick your poison. Which one do you want? You know, uh, sometimes uh we look at like, you know, certain food and you're like, man, but this food they taste so good, you know. Um, but yes, you know, healthy food are also good, but you have to know how to, you know, uh make them, you know, taste good and not overindulge. Like I remember I went somewhere and I was doing um, you know, one church in Texas, I was uh doing a presentation for them, you know, they have a health and wellness event there. And so uh, you know, the um, you know, I was telling them some of the ingredients that we use in Nigeria that are not really that healthy. And you know, one of the questions that I got was so what else can we use? Because pretty much everybody, you know, all household um uses that same ingredient. So and I was saying them, well, you know, if we can. And learn how to start using herbs. You know, herbs is something that is undermined. Most people, I mean, you know, it's something that even for me, doing, you know, with my own health journey, I have to learn a lot about herbs, you know, how I can use them in my food. And, you know, and they give their food, you know, the taste that we want. And so I have to like, you know, tell them, uh, okay, and then, you know, some of those herbs, you can actually grow them yourself. So you don't have to depend on the store. And you can eat like my mint. I have mint in my garden, you know, right before fall. I have to, you know, up put a lot of it because I just planted just a few before I know it. The mint is like all over the place, taking over the garden. So that's something that you know I um became very passionate, you know, to kind of um start teaching people. I have, you know, um a couple of my uh clients who are also in healthcare. I have a doctor, nurse, and you know, I remember when you know, um the doctor was telling me, you know, I feel bad that I have to tell patients to lose weight. But I, you know, I'm overweight. You know, I'm I feel bad when I tell my patient that they need to drink enough water. I don't even drink enough water. So, you know, again, that's what I was, you know, saying earlier. You know, it's it's what it is with our healthcare system. It's like you lose good on a paper. Let's tell you, you know, do this or do that. Now, so the same thing, you know, let's say, for example, you're telling your patient to drink water. Do you even know how much water your patient is supposed to be drinking? Right? So we got into that whole notion where people are like, oh, you know, we gotta drink one gallon of water. And I'm looking at somebody like me, if I drink one gallon of water, my organs and cells will be swimming in fluid. Absolutely. So we you have to understand how much you know fluid intake that you're supposed to be taking so that you don't mess up your electrolytes, right? All in the name that you are trying to hydrate yourself. And um, so again, you know, so that's what the the rejuvenate integrative health awareness does. Um, basically just educating um my clients and not you know overwhelming them with information. And I always you know go with the smaller steps, you know, and not just me giving them the steps. They have to be the one to tell me what kind of steps, you know, do they want to take. So let's say, for example, if they're like, yeah, you know, I think I'm gonna, you know, run um two miles, you know, in the next two weeks. I was like, okay, fine. So we write, you know, I write it down, you write it down, that's your goal, you know, to run two miles. But then when you come back, you know, that after you know the second week and say, you know what, I wasn't able to run two miles, I was able to run one mile. We celebrate that one mile because it's a huge milestone. I agree that you're able to do that one mile, and so you know, then we go on next, is like, okay, instead of trying to shoot for that two miles, now that you're able to get one mile, how do you feel about that one mile? Okay, maybe we can add 1.2 mile or 1.3, and let's see how it's gonna go for the you know next two weeks, and so and that's why I always look at you know health coaching as is individually tailored. Okay, so it's not you know one side fit all. And that's you know, taking my time to be able to understand my client versus you know, I go to my my um my clinician, you know, again, my PCP, and you'll you get five minutes, and by the time you even think about you know the questions that you want to ask, uh the you know, the PCP is already getting up to leave.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, I encourage my patients to write their questions down prior to going. I said, even if your appointment's a week off, start writing your questions down, even if it's three weeks off, start writing your questions down and take them with you. Don't try to do it by memory. That way you can at least get your questions addressed. Because if you leave out and you haven't spoken regarding any of your issues, it's not it's not successful because you're still frustrated because you did not get your questions answered. Yeah, no, and so uh I have I've been encouraging them to do that for many years, several decades.
SPEAKER_00:Okay, which you know it's it's very helpful.
SPEAKER_01:Well, I think so, and and write your medications down before the electronic records came. Write your medications down, keep them in your wallet because every time you admit a patient to the hospital or they see their doctor, oh you know, doc, they're already in your chart. Well, no, they're not, especially if you saw another physician, you know, and they were like, just go get the doctor's chart. I said it's in his office. I can't just take your chart out of his office. We're the hospital. It's just better if you stay informed. And I have been teaching that for so many years, and some people get it and some don't.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah. And you know what, you know, just like you're saying, when I used to work in a clinic in in Chicago, um, we used to uh, you know, tell our patients, bring your medication, forget writing them down. Because you know that is, you know, um, some of these um patients will go to, so they have their PCP. Something happened, they go to the ER, they go to the urgent care, or when they go out of town, you know, they go and see another doctor. And so you have all these medications that they are taking, and have not, you know, in their mind it's like, oh, well, I'm taking what you know, all the doctors tell me to take. So I I have, you know, I had a patient that came in, she was taking three beta blockers. Wow. And she got all of them from three different physicians, including her primary, you know, care physician. And so it was it was um, it was so sad because like I saw because she was my patient at the time. So, you know, I was like looking at her medication, and you know, again, we checked her blood pressure, her blood pressure was really low. And so, you know, I'm looking at her medication, I'm like, hold up. I said, Are you taking all these three? And she's like, Yes. And so I asked her where did she get them from? So she explained, you know, she went to, you know, uh ER and then went to urgent care. And so, anyways, um, she's taking all of them. Of course, she doesn't know that they are all in the same class.
SPEAKER_03:Sure.
SPEAKER_00:And um, so I had to explain to her that this is what's going on, this is why your blood pressure is very low, this is why, you know, you're feeling all you're dizzy and all of that. And um, so you know, again, it was a learning lesson for me and for other people to you know keep encouraging our patients, especially the elderly ones, bring all your medication, bring them all in, let's look at them. And then I remember, yeah, and I remember another time we had this um lady, she came in, uh, not in the same clinic, but uh, you know, this one was in a hospital um clinic, and she we did her lab work, and her lab work was showing her kidney function was you know going down. Absolutely. But she's healthy, you know. Uh but she's healthy, she has you know rheumatoid arthritis, and um she has something when I say she's healthy, like she looks you know, healthy on the outside, um, you know, then she had something else that she had, but it wasn't like you know, major, you know, um health concern, but she's taking medication. But those medications, they you know, it's not something to that will, you know, destroy her kidney, anything like that. So, you know, uh the doctor was like, what is going on? Why is your you know, your lab work, you know, for the kidney just you know looking really bad? Like something is going on, and we don't know. So, mind you, we've read off all the medication, she told us all the medication that she was taking, and but there's nothing she wasn't taking anything for the rheumatoid arthritis because she wasn't as bad to prescribe anything for her. So the the you know, the doctor was like, So, what do you take, you know, when you have pain? And she said, I believe she said telanol or some, you know, one NSA. But guess what? She's been taking this in for years and she never told anybody, and this was what was messing up her kidney, and she did not know that, we didn't know that. So if it wasn't that the physician kind of, you know, was like, okay, you're not taking it, you know, because he kept going through, like, okay, you have this disease, this is what you're taking for it. You have this one, this is what you're taking. The rheumatodis, yeah, you know, we didn't prescribe anything for you. So when you get all these pains in your joints, what do you take for it? And that's how we realized that she was taking NSAID and she's been taking it for a while, and she's taking high dose. Yeah. So again, um, part of it obviously is you know, taking that time, which you know, we as um, you know, medical doctors or clinicians, you know, you don't have that much time to spend with your patient to start digging your brain to figure out what's going on with the patient. So we lose out on some of these things. You know, where you have that time to sit sit down and like really think and said, you know what, let me look at your lab work. Let's, you know, figure out what's going on here. You know, the same. I remember one in another patient that I had also had um, I want to say it's hepatitis B or C, one of one of them. But he was taking medication for it. You know, she, I mean, he was taking medication for it for a while. But an interesting thing was that when um, you know how when you go in and you write their past, you know, medical history and all that, along the line, somebody stopped writing the hepatitis, right? So nobody else continued with it. But then we kept looking at it's like, okay, what's you know, why you there's a at some point in your life you you were taking this medicine and he doesn't know why he was taking it. That's another thing. He couldn't remember why he was taking it. So I have to be the one, you know, like that bothered me. And I think we did a lab, I think it was his lab work that was showing, you know, all those um abnormal abnormalities with the liver. So I um, you know, after he left, I took it upon myself to go through his report, you know, his um chart. And I went all the way from the beginning when he came to the heart, you know, to that clinic. And I'm going through it. I'm going through it, and then bingo found it. So again, you know, is is that um I don't know if it's the compassion or or I mean maybe there's still that compassion, but there's no time. You know, there's no time for the physicians to, you know, stop and say, let's look and see what else, what else could be going on.
SPEAKER_01:And I I agree with you. And like I say, when I was asking them to write down their medications, I wanted them to write down the name, the dosage, how many times a day they took it. Um, and that's all of it. We need to know. Um, and then there are those patients that will bring in not just a small bag of medicines, they bring in this big bag. And the doctor went, No way, no way you're taking all of this medicine. But what she did was really kind of smart. She brought it all. She brought it all. No, I don't, but I want you to know that this is what I'm on. So he had to take the time. He put on his gloves, pulled out bottle by bottle, and you know, but it takes that sometime to get your patient on the right track. Like you said, with the insets. Um, some people take medicine for so long they forget they're taking it. Okay, it's just in much of a routine. I had a patient, she told me, Oh, my doctor forgot to write my volume. And I was like, uh, okay, I'll talk to him about it. Well, when I talked to him about it, he said, I don't want her to have it.
SPEAKER_04:So I was okay.
SPEAKER_01:He knew her very well. And so she went when I told her, he said that um he'll come back. He's not sure if he really wants you to have it. I had to make I gave her the truth, but I added a little bit more to it to keep me out of the middle. And so she told me, I have been taking it so long, I needed to go to sleep. And uh, she said, one night, you know, you're not supposed to be taking valium with uh alcohol. I was like, she said, Well, you know, I had just gone to a dinner party and I had some wine, so I came home and I took my valium. I said, How'd you do? She said, I did fine. Well, that's just how much of a routine she was in. Okay, you know, so you're just like, I mean, we're all human, we make errors, okay. I've had patients, they put their little cup of medicine next to their husband's cup of medicine. She gets busy doing things, and she takes his and he takes hers. And so his medication bottomed out her blood pressure because she does not have a diagnosis of hypertension. He does. So she came in the hospital, they said that she overdosed, and I went in and looked at her. I said, that's not an overdose. This woman did not overdose. Okay. And so when I got an opportunity to speak with her, she told me exactly what happened. It is such a believable story because we can all do it. And she said, she said, now I just hope my estrogen doesn't make him start growing boobs. She had a very good outlook, you know, on what's going on. And she said, but his medicine, that is why I'm in here. It dropped my pressure. And she said, I just do this every night, but he took his. I took my, I didn't look in it after I prepared them. We just took our medicine, and here I am in the hospital. But it was not an overdose, it was she just mistakenly took the wrong man. So I don't declare that an overdose, okay? And so when I came in and talked with her, he had as big a laugh as me and you had because she was such a vibrant woman, and uh, she said, I will be careful from here on. His is either going on his side of the bed and mine going on my side, but I gotta come up with a different plan, you know. So we have to, anything can happen, mistakes happen, but I am glad that we are on the same network with medications, who's prescribed what when. That does help your physician, your PCP, your specialist, everyone then gets a chance to know just what's going on. So that technology has really, to me, you know, help with some of that. Um, but you still need to be honest in what you're taking, yes, you know, because if you go to urgent care, you still need to be honest in what you're taking because you don't want medicine, like we were saying, you're on three beta blockers. How did that happen? And you know, when when you know, I'm on the outside looking in. How did that happen? You know, and it's just by the grace of God, it didn't have a uh a horrible effect on her, okay? Yeah, yeah. So that's why this information is very important to people. It's okay. If you have a physician you can't talk to, you need to find a different physician.
SPEAKER_00:Exactly.
SPEAKER_01:You you just you need to find a different physician, but and and I tell everyone you have to advocate for yourself, yeah. You have to ask the big questions, it you know, don't and I hate to use the word dictate, but you have to ask questions for yourself, for your health, for your well-being. And it's okay to ask questions. That's why you're there because they will always end this exam with what questions do you have? Yes, and most people will say, I'm okay, I don't have any, but you really do. And it's it's okay to ask because they can't help you if you don't tell them. Yes, yeah, no matter how busy they seem to be. Um, that's not your thing. Your your concern is to be concerned about yourself, yes, or the loved one that you're with, if that's the case, okay? So um, so that can happen, it has happened, you know, but we have to constantly tell people you need to help us help you.
SPEAKER_00:Yes, so true.
SPEAKER_01:Okay, so with your health and wellness, you have. I saw your pictures where you're exercising. It reminded me of me when I was in the gym before COVID. But that was like she getting down, you know. So, do you have a personal trainer or do you exercise on your own?
SPEAKER_00:So for years I've been exercising on my own. I just got a personal trainer um August of last year. Yeah, so I got to the point, you know, where I was like, you know what? I am, you know, I'm 46. I turned 46 last year, July.
SPEAKER_01:Okay.
SPEAKER_00:And and I know that, you know, I've been working out over since I was about 19 years old. So it's it's been a lifestyle for me. But I know that as you're aging, um, you start to lose muscle. And so I needed to do something different. So I was like, you know, I needed to go and get a trainer, and the trainer obviously will help me, you know, learn how to. You know, and some some people will say, Oh, why a trainer? I mean, you, you know. Know how to work out, you in the navy, blah blah blah. But so one thing I always say if I am training myself, I can lift 10 pounds. But having a trainer, trainer makes me lift 20 pounds. And in my mouth, like, oh, I did that, you know, but on my own, I will not try that. So it's like, you know, I'm lifting weight. If it's too heavy, I reduce them. But with a trainer, it's like, no, you're being challenged to push yourself. And I notice myself, you know, getting stronger and stronger, you know, um, as I'm working out with with the trainer. So that's that's something for me, you know. Yes, it's a little bit of you know money that comes out of my pocket. But like I always tell my clients, you know, you either pay now or you pay later. So I enjoy it. I enjoy going there. And another thing also is I'm one of those people that I don't waste the money. And you know how some people say they pay for gym membership and then you know they never go. Oh, that would not fly in my book.
SPEAKER_01:No, I know either. No, I'm not gonna throw the money away. No, I am not.
SPEAKER_00:So I will go, and that's why, you know, even when I don't feel like going, but knowing that if I don't go today, that means I'm gonna miss out on you know my whole training day. So yep, I'm getting up, I'm going. Okay, mind you, you know, that means yes, you know, maybe once or twice I'm like, okay, um, I need to sleep. My body's telling me that I need to relax, and then I just you know go to bed. Um, but you know, 98 out of 100, I am in the gym, you know, getting my getting my money's worth.
SPEAKER_01:That's great. That's great. Yeah, um, I'm I'm with you. Um I had a hypertensive episode not long ago, and I was like, wow, what am I not doing? Well, when I look at it, I wasn't doing anything that I was doing prior. Uh the water intake, I had kind of I was just drinking enough water to get by when at one time I was at a nice level of water, okay. Um, I wasn't exercising like I normally do. Um and I was like, okay, you gotta get back. You've got to get back to all of it. Uh, you've got to decrease the amount of sugar that you're taking in, you've got to do it all over again. And I just made that commitment to myself. Uh I don't go in there two days a week. Yeah. But see, when you go two days a week, when I was going five days a week, what are you doing the other three? And you know, you just have to be honest with yourself. So now I don't care. I have a little trampoline, you know, one of those mini trampolines at home. So when I can't get out like today, it's such a rainy day. Uh, that mini trampoline is coming out. I'm jumping up on it. And in fact, I used it yesterday. Uh, so it it there is something you can do. If you can't walk, there is something you can do. And I have I have my weights here um because I did, I started in college doing weights and fell in love with it, okay. And when I realized I was getting a little bit too buffed, I was like, oh, wait a minute, let me back up. Because you can see my guns coming, okay? You can see my guns. Like, wow, you know, but when you like something, you like it. When it fits you, it fits you. I'm not saying weights are for everybody, I'm not saying that, but I do encourage people. What you can do, you need to do it. I don't care if it's that little mini cycle or if it's walking, and you know, some people have walking limitations, they can't walk. I get that, you know. But do whatever you can do to stay active because it's not just about your legs, it's about your heart.
SPEAKER_00:You know, your mind, your mind.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, it is, but you know, I think about I I'm cardiac, I've done a lot of cardiac in my nursing career. Um, just basically all forms of cardiac. And I'm like, uh-uh, no, you know, we need to do better with that. And seeing that cholesterol, it you just need to do better than what we're doing. And you and you can, you can, and yes, yes.
SPEAKER_00:And so, you know, just um piggybacking on what you're saying, you know, with um, you know, when it comes to health and wellness, or help, you know, for me, I always tell my client that it's a journey, it's not an overnight.
SPEAKER_01:It is a journey, it is a journey.
SPEAKER_00:So it's something that you have to start slowly. We can't just, you know, change our uh refrigerator overnight, we can change our pantry overnight, but it's something that you slowly start to look at, you know, what is benefiting you and what is not benefiting you. What are the things that make you feel good, and what are the things that make you feel sluggish, you know? And and so from there, you start to um, you know, like they will tell us in a health coaching, you know, institute is like, you know, you are crowding out. So you're adding things and then you're letting things go. And so, you know, those are for me, um, also like one of the things I always try to do with my clients is to let them understand their why. Okay, so you have like I have um remember one of my clients, she used to eat a lot of uh Chick-fil-A. And so when we started talking about the, you know, she did detox, and you know, we kind of you know talked a bit about the whole Chick-fil-A thing. And she was like, after she did detoxing multiple times, she's like, oh, you know, she stopped having that craving for Chick-fil-A. You know, so again, I do not tell her to stop, I just you know, educated her on the whole thing. And you know, and one of the things like I have, you know, one of my friends, she talked about her husband that, you know, had cancer, but you know, even though the doctor gave him, I think, like six uh months or so, he ended up, you know, living like three or four years because they made a lot of changes in their in their health, um, in their diet. But you know, she was saying that her husband, when you see him, you know, because I saw the picture, I didn't meet him when he was still alive, he was, you know, he was a skinny guy. He walked out, you know, he was also in in the air force and um he was a pilot. And so he, you know, she was like, yeah, you know, he will go and walk out and do all of this, you know, do the quote unquote the healthy things. But what he would do is that after he walked out, he will go and eat uh McDonough or Burger King, you know, because in his mind, it's like, well, I've already worked out, so you know, like there's no harm to eat all this. Um, without realizing, uh, you know, when you work out, quote unquote, your your whole body, your cells, they are pretty much in a state of, I need food, I need food, I need you to feed me. But I need you to feed me the right things. Right? So, you know, that's where you have again, you know, you know, in medicine, you have that stress, and again, those stress levels are up because you work out. Sure. Right? Um, but now you got to calm them down, and that's one of the reasons why, you know, when you work out, there are certain food that you're supposed to eat. And those foods are to nourish those muscles, those cells that have been activated, and to make sure that, you know, again, you are putting them in the right path. But, you know, when you go in and you are eating McDonald's, Burger King, all these fast food that has all this inflammation, your cell is already inflamed because you worked out. Now you are eating all this fast food that also has, you know, that you know, causes inflammation. You are double wimping or triple or quadrupling, you are the stress level, the inflammation, you know, in in your body. And so, and that's one thing that people don't understand. Um, people think, you know, I work out, I eat whatever I want to eat. That is a good idea. You can eat whatever you want to eat, but you have to make sure that you are feeding your body the right thing. I there was a time that I used to see on on you know, like YouTube ads, this guy will say, you know, I work out, you know, I eat pizza, I eat burger, I eat this, and I was like, Wow, I haven't seen it in a while now. So I don't know if they've somebody shot him down or something, but it that is a wrong message that you are sending out to people.
SPEAKER_01:I really it is the wrong message, yeah.
SPEAKER_00:So those are the things that you know, again, like you talked about sugar, you know. One of the things, in fact, I'm reading a book. Um, it talks about sugar. Let me see what's the name of that book. Um, oh, the case against sugar. And one of the things about sugar that people don't understand is that cancer loves sugar. You know, so cancer thrives in sugar, and that's why, you know, when they try to find, you know, cancer, they put a PET scan. What does the PET scan have in it? Glucose, because cancer will glue up, you know, when they see um uh, you know, once they attach to sugar. And um, so now I see people when they are diagnosed with cancer and they are going through their chemo and radiation and you know, whatever else, you know, that is going on. And um, you know, and then you know, whoever the clinicians or you know, will tell them eat whatever your body, you know, wants you to eat because you know, you are going through a lot, your body's going through a lot, you know. But what does our body want? Sugar. Of course. And so I'm seeing these people going through chemo and radiation, and they are drinking soda and they're eating all these, you know, sugary food because that's what their body wants. That's what it's craving, you know, and and I'm like, I'm sitting there like, wow, this is this is sad, you know, because on the other hand, you are giving them chemo to try to kill this medic, you know, kill this um disease, and then you have them feeding it. Right? Yeah, so you know, in my mind, I was like, wow, we need to really um learn how to educate our you know people, educate people, let them know. Um, but again, it's not a fault. Again, I don't know about nursing school. I know for medical school, we did not have any any training on nutrition. So if you want to know anything about nutrition, you have to go outside of your medical training to learn more about it. That is true. So, and that's one of the things, you know, for me, that is always like, you know, we gotta, you know, find a way to do better. I know in my health coaching training, it was like, yeah, you know, you can work with doctors and see, but a lot of times, you know, you can't really, you know, not a lot of doctors are receptive, you know, to have a health coach come and work with their patients. Because if your patient gets better, they lose, you know, patient. Right?
SPEAKER_04:Yeah.
SPEAKER_00:I remember when I did orientation, I did um observation ship in one hospital in Alabama. So that I cannot remember the name of the doctor was there for like I think two weeks or so. And the doctor, you know, I went in and saw his patients, you know. I uh and you know, the patient was overweight. And so, you know, and then you can tell that most of her issues are coming because of the weight. And so I wrote down my own little notes, you know, went back, you know, presented the whole thing to the you know, physician. And one of the things that I recommended was to educate her on you know, weight loss and you know, exercise, you know, what um her food intake, all of that, honey. And so he went and talked to the patient, you know, did whatever he did with the patient, came out, and I said, Oh, doc, you forgot to tell her about her weight. And he looked at me and said, Do you think she doesn't know that she's overweight? And I was like, um, okay. He's like, Uh, she knows she's overweight. So if I tell her about losing weight and then she goes and lose weight, then I lose a patient.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, but you know, if you if you really care about the patient, you're going to tell them the truth. And I have been around doctors that are really honest. So when I I hear these stories, I'll be like, where'd that come from? But it's like you say, you don't get a lot of uh nutrition in nursing school. But we did have to take a class from uh one of the nutritionalists, and it was basically mandatory. Um, and they go over it, but it's not detailed. That's why you become friends with a dietitian. You become friends with your dietitian, and I asked a lot of questions, why this with this, and she and and she was very, very good. Renee was very good at explaining things and giving me her time because I do want to know. Um, because when the you come in and you talk to the patient, I will follow her, especially if it was my patient. I followed her into the room and she would talk to them about it and you know, be as thorough as she could and be as simple as she could with it. And you know, when she leaves out, the patient tells me I ain't listening to nothing she got to say. I'm gonna eat this. I'm like, okay, but and and that's a fight because people want to eat what they enjoy. And you can't, it's not that you can't have it, just you need it in moderation.
SPEAKER_00:Yes, yes.
SPEAKER_01:I'm not gonna tell you can't have that Snicker, I'm just saying you don't need one every day. Yeah, I'm not gonna tell you that. But can you tell us about your celery? I want to know about yourself.
SPEAKER_00:Oh, oh, yes. Um, oh, I knew I was forgetting that book. Um anyway.
SPEAKER_01:I wasn't gonna let you forget.
SPEAKER_00:I salary uh juice journey. I want to say maybe three years ago or so, and I had um it was this guy, his uh oof, uh medical medium. Um, his name is I think uh Daniel. I'm gonna go on my um Instagram real quick so I can pull out his name. But it was um, you know, it was actually a friend of mine that was, you know, talking about him and it well, she was um, she had a book, so she was reading the book, and I was like, oh, okay, this is interesting. And so I went and got the book and I'm reading it. So the book was about celery, and he talked about how the celery has changed his life and has changed you know so many people's lives. And I was like, celery? I barely even eat celery by itself. Uh, you know, like how am I gonna drink it? You know, so yeah, he's on Instagram, his name is Medical Medium. Um, yeah, so it is um, I mean, I I was like, okay, um, I'm gonna try it out. So I tried it um first time, you know, like maybe did like a seven-day, you know, celery juice. Um, you know, I was like, okay, you know, this is an acquired taste, you know, because there's nothing sweet about celery at all. So from there I was like, okay, so I got the idea, you know, now what I've learned that you know it's almost like the celery is like, is um, it's like the Bible of the health, quote unquote. Um, so many people have talked about how they have been cured from you know all kinds of you know uh diseases, you know, uh, because of the celery um juice. Uh so to start it off, you wake up in the morning, um, you know, like you like I tell my clients, you know, you don't need to brush your teeth, you just use water, rainse your mouth, and then you know, make the celery juice. So make yours done by the store-made one. So make it fresh every day because when you um make it and put it in the fridge, the next day the potency kind of decreased. And I've noticed that because you know, I did it because I wanted to try it out, and the taste was different. So I now I started making my own celery uh juice every day. So basically, what you do again, you drink it, you know, you can start off, you know, like eight ounces, which is what I did. I started off about eight ounces, now I drink about 16 ounces. So you um you drink it and then you wait about 30 minutes to an hour before you start eating anything. You know, if you have breakfast eater or you know, if you drink coffee, whatever, just you know, wait. And the the whole idea is, you know, drinking that juice, it goes in into your into your you know, small intestine, diffuse inside your, you know, and diffuse into your blood vessels, and then go into your liver, cleans out your liver, cleans up your gut, and then of course, you know, um, you know, and that's a part of the detox, you know, because um most of the time you find yourself, you know, going to the toilet, you know, so you can move out, you know, all the all the um uh junks coming out. So and that's you know, so and there's a lot of benefits, you know, then that's like you know, like right now, uh we are doing a 31-day. I put out a challenge on my social media to join me and do a 31-day uh you know, celery juice challenge. And that's basically what we are doing. So you wake up in the morning, you make the celery, uh, you know, you make your celery juice, drink it, and then wait about 30 to an hour before you eat. And, you know, and a lot of people have said, you know, they felt good. You know, I remember last year when I did it, you know, somebody told me that um she used to have pains on her joints, and she realized that during that you know, period her pain went away. You know, um, one of the things that I get a lot, you know, uh with my friends, I like they always talk about my skin glowing. Of course, you know, it's not just celery juice that I do. I, you know, I take um, you know, other um plant-based, you know, supplements and and things of that nature. So I I try to again try to keep myself, you know, healthy as much as I can. So, you know, those are things that I see, you know, for me, you know, with my skin, um, you know, the energy, uh, you know, I know this also helps to stabilize my blood pressure. Again, remember, I also said that it's it's not just acery juice that I'm doing, I'm doing a whole lot of other things. So, you know, it's for me, it's like any little bit of things that I'm adding, you know, the goal is to help, you know, um heal myself. So that's that's the whole thing about the celery juice. So um, like I was telling my clients, you know, it's not um just a one-time thing, it's something that, you know, like let's say the 30-day or 31-day, you know, um challenge, I try to do it maybe every quarter, but you know, every month I try to do like maybe seven days.
SPEAKER_01:Okay, that was gonna be the question I was gonna ask you. Uh, how often once you get started? So you do it once a month for seven days. Yeah.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah. And then sometimes I do more than that. It all depends on how I'm feeling. I might go in, go to the store, and I'm like, oh, you know, the celeries on sale, and then I, you know, gather a bunch of them. And and then I it's not just the celery juice that I do also. Sometimes I will add, you know, um green apple or I add pineapple to it. Um, I will do, you know, again, I uh put in like let's say if I'm not doing celery juice, because the celery juice is just pure celery, nothing else. But when I do, you know, when I want to do like some kind of green, you know, juice, I will have I have mint, I have um parsley, um, and what else? Green apple, um, maybe, you know, um red apple, if I have them. I also add pineapple, but I put a lot of ginger because I always like you know, ginger to kind of help, you know, get all the inflammation and whatever else that you know ginger does in the body, get them all in. And so those are the things that you know I also do with um with the celery. So it's not just you know pure celery juice. I also you know do other things on the side.
SPEAKER_01:Okay, that was going to be my second question because I am really sensitive. I'm like, yeah, I don't really eat celery, I'll top it up and put it in certain things, dishes that needs to go in, but I'm not that girl. Uh I don't like the same seven, but it gives it good flavor. So I was like, Well, I wonder, can I add something to it? Okay, so you've answered both my questions on that. Um I might give it a try. I promise. I'm I'm really thinking real hard. I'm giving it a try.
SPEAKER_00:You and one thing else, that you know, like somebody sent me a message and said, Can she add something in it? And I said, Yeah, sure, you can add maybe green apple. That's about it, you know, just because that will give you just a little bit of you know, sugar if you're if that's what you're looking for.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, I'm looking for taste. I need to be able to, yeah. I need to be able to smell.
SPEAKER_00:I know. My it was interesting. I had my um 11-year-old actually did it with me last year at the time he was 10. So I had him do a full 30 day. It was an interesting idea. It's like, you know, I have to get the juice ready as soon as he wakes up in the morning to go to school. So, you know, uh, as soon as he wakes up, you know, he comes downstairs, he, you know, drinks it and then go and shower. By the time he gets ready, you know, the 30 minutes have already passed, so he can eat breakfast. So this time around, I wanted him to do it, he's like, Mom, I tried it that time and I was able to complete my 30 days. He's like, I don't want to do it again. But one thing that I was telling him, he used to have really bad eczema. Like we, since he was born, he had really, really bad eczema. And of course, you know, we've done a lot of changes, you know, to our diet and all that. But I, you know, I noticed that after we did the whole 30-day um, you know, celery juice challenge, his eczema cleared up till today. There's not a single eczema on him. Oh, that's great. Yes, so that's what I used to say. I will bribe him and say, Oh, remember, you know, your your eczema went away. He's like, and they're not coming back.
SPEAKER_01:He is speaking that into existence. That is right. But he knows what to do if it ever flares back up again. But that's wonderful, that is wonderful. Well, Dr. Chi Chi, I want uh thank you so much for uh being with us on Gentry's journey. I've thoroughly enjoyed it. Uh, but tell the listeners how they can find you and find um your products, your tips on exercise, and things of that nature.
SPEAKER_00:All right, so um on um social media, so that's Instagram, TikTok, um, Facebook, I am Chi Chi Health. So again, Chi Chi Health. Um CHI CHI the word health. Um, my website is rejuvenateinhealth.com. Rejuvenate in health.com. Or if you go on my social media, you know, share my Instagram. If you go on the bio section, you will see my um my link, and then just you know, click um from there. Um, also on my website, you can also see um I have their 21-day love your health. Um, again, it's uh I'm always having some kind of you know little challenge, but it was a challenge that I did last year. Um, I did it for spring, I did it for summer, and I did it for fall. And so it's almost you know similar thing. But if you go there, it's free. It's a PDF, so it's a 21-day love your health. Um, it you know, it has like different things that you can do for 21 days, you know, like it gives you an idea on food, you know, you know, action plans, you know, gratitude, things of that nature that is not tedious, but it's just a small step. And people that followed me last year that did it multiple times with me really loved it. Um, they also love the idea that they can make simple food that has a lot of nutrition in it. So that's something that, you know, again, if you go on my website, you can get it. I also um co-authored um in a lot of books that are also on the website. One of them, which I co-author with uh Ms. Carol Lynn Coleman, is uh She Said Yes to Herself unapologetically. I also talk about a bit about my my journey there. Um my latest book that I really, really uh really have been getting a lot of um comment on is my 30-day wellness journey. Okay um mindfulness, gratitude, and growth. And it's also on the website.
SPEAKER_02:Okay.
SPEAKER_00:So these, you know, when you look at it, you see like pictures that I took. Those pictures are, you know, either when I was walking or flying, because I travel a lot. So I was just you know taking those pictures, not even thinking anything of them until when the idea to write the book came in, and you know, God was like, Yep, this is where those pictures are going to.
SPEAKER_01:That's right.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, so I started so it's a really, really great um journal. So you just it's a 30-day, you have Bible verses on every day. Um, you have an intention, so send some things you know, for you to be intentional about for that day, and also reflections, and you get to journal your thoughts. Okay, so again, those are the things that people have been very, very excited about, you know, just to have Bible verses that they can and that will help them for the day.
SPEAKER_01:That sounds great. Thank you again. I am going to try the celery juicing mixed with apple or pineapple guys. I mean, I'm going to go ahead and confess that's how we started off. And I am going to, but I'm not, I think I have that date in mind that I'm going to start it. Um, okay. So um, yeah, and it's going to be um um for Lent, okay. Oh nice, yeah, it's gonna be for Lent because um yeah, that yeah, so that I think that'd be a perfect time okay to get this party started, okay? Because I need to do something for Lent. Uh, and so uh I might as well try the celery and let's see what it do for me and let me know how it's going. Oh, I know it will. No, I will definitely keep you in the loop on how that is going to work out, okay?
SPEAKER_00:And then I have people that what they are doing now is like they're sending me pictures, and it's kind of like a way for them to be accountable for themselves, you know, just to say, okay, I I took it today and she's expecting my picture, and so they are sending me pictures to kind of keep themselves accountable.
SPEAKER_01:So, yeah, they do it, do do it, they send it every day to let you know that they're drinking the juice. Oh god, yes, I might not send you one every day, but I'm gonna send you one every week. Uh, you know, I'm gonna let you know because I'm incorporated, but I think that will be the perfect time because I think Lent comes early this year, so um that's what I'm gonna do. So so thank you so much. I have truly enjoyed it. You have a wonderful day, a wonderful weekend, and I will keep you up on my journey, okay?
SPEAKER_00:All right, thank you. All right, bye.