The Scoop with Tanya Flanagan

Unknown Speaker 0:00
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Unknown Speaker 0:19
Good morning, and thank you for joining me for the scoop with Tanya flat again, I'm so happy you decided to wake up and start your day with me. Here on the scoop, where we talk about life, joy, funny moments, trending topics, and so much more. We promise to keep you in the know and find out what you know. So let's get started.

Unknown Speaker 0:46
Good Sunday morning, Las Vegas, thank you for tuning in to another episode of the scoop here on K u and v 91.5. Public Radio. We're talking today about health we just got into the beginning of our new year we're setting it off here in the month of February just getting started. Black History Month is upon us. So I do want to tip my head give kudos to all of the legends who've gone before me, and made great strides and changed things and made life better. So this is a great month, if there's some stuff out there going on in the neighborhood. I know there's a lot going on in your neighborhood that you were thinking I might go to that, you know, make time make it a priority. And to go. We started the year off when we talked a bit about New Year's resolutions, and everyone has them. But I was looking at something the other day and it said 10 luxuries in life. Time health security, good sleep, inner peace, financial stability, unconditional love being able to travel, the freedom of choice, and meaningful connections. And I thought, wow, that's really a cool list. But at the top of the list was health. And it made me want to bring the conversation to that today. And so I am very thrilled to have a dear friend of mine who I have a great deal of respect and admiration for she's an amazing woman. It's Black History Month. So we're starting the month off with a dynamic black woman. And I'd like to welcome to my show this morning, my friend Shaniqua Hawkins, who is a board certified family nurse practitioner here in the state of Nevada and also in the state of California. And she is the founder of care with purpose Medical Center. Over kind of, I don't know if it's north, I guess it's kind of North Las Vegas ish. But it she sits near the intersection of smoke ranch and Rancho and I'm just excited to have her here. Today we're going to talk about the continuation of some of our New Year's resolutions, but more so in the vein of just being healthy, and what people can do. So without further ado, Good morning, Miss Shaniqua.

Unknown Speaker 3:06
Good morning, Miss Tang, it. Thank you for having me.

Unknown Speaker 3:09
Thank you for waking up and joining me again, and I tip my hat to you it is Black History Month. And so I'm excited to have you as a black woman, an accomplished black woman in the medical profession here with us on the show today. So thank you for everything that you've done. So with that great legend, huh?

Unknown Speaker 3:32
What does I know? I basically said, you know, what I was saying is thank you for having me. And definitely I want to pay tribute to Miss Mary Eliza Mahoney. She especially because it's Black History Month, and she was one of the first black women to train professionally in the United States as a nurse. And so because of her, I'm able to do what what I do so thank you and I wouldn't be me. If I did not shout out, you know, Miss Mary Eliza Mahoney?

Unknown Speaker 4:03
Well, thank you for that bit of black history. I think there's so many people out there that we don't know the stories of who have made a difference in our lives and the quality of life that we enjoy here in America and the contributions that African Americans have made to the the landscape and to our communities and families. And so I think anytime there's a chance to talk about those individuals, whoever may be passionate and dear to you, for me, I always give acknowledgement to Phyllis Wheatley because my background is a journalist. And she was one of the first women to ever be written to write and be published. And I thought it was just phenomenal that back all those years ago during slavery and segregation and desegregation and all that stuff. There was this woman who wrote in was published and respected so and she's actually there's A bronze statue of her in the African American Smithsonian and Washington DC. And it was so cool the first time I went there to visit, to see her statue standing there and to be familiar with who it was, was exciting and exhilarating for me. So I agree with you. And thank you for sharing that bit of history. Well, I mentioned that great list that I saw just the other day 10 luxuries in life. And we often think about large houses, extravagant houses, and cars and yachts, and you know, things like the jewelry, but when it just said things like time health, security, good sleep and health was at the top of the list, it made me think we should have a conversation about the value of health and what we can do to make sure we're taking steps to take care of ourselves. And so I wanted to talk with you because you are passionate about the community, especially those who are disadvantaged at times and don't have access to resources. So what what are some things that people should be mindful of, as we see our society in our environment changing? What are you talking to people about? Yes?

Unknown Speaker 6:13
Well, that's pretty, you know, pretty broad, but there are some things that we can kind of narrow down Tynix, I believe it is extremely important that you're attacking this topic, because we don't really speak about it enough. I believe that some of the things that we can do to take care of ourselves in this age, and this time, especially with a lot of the, you know, viruses that we see, that are happening in our communities over the past three years, you know, it has been pretty problematic. And because of that, you know, I think some of the things we can do, are very simple, such as getting, you know, a good night's rest, decreasing, you know, some of our stressors in life, and there's that famous one that we all talk about. But sometimes we don't take it serious enough, which would be diet and exercise. And a lot of times, we don't like to talk about the D word, because the D word kind of has this negative connotation to it, when it's used inappropriately. And that is, you know, diet, and I've, I've, you know, come to change my way of addressing that word. And I use, you know, the term consumption because I think that when we change things a little bit, we are then able to open up our mindset and view things a little bit differently. So it's extremely imperative to look at some of the things that we consume on a daily basis. And people I think, can adjust to consumption versus dieting. Right. So those are some of the key things that I think, you know, we have to watch, you know, the hours that we sleep, and making sure that we're getting at least six to eight hours of sleep at night and making sure that our stress levels are at a minimum, pretty low, and making sure that we're putting things in our bodies that are conducive to, you know, the sustainability of life. We want to make sure that we're eating the right things, we're looking at the right things, and we're around the right things. And sometimes we just have to narrow those things down. But I think that's a start with, you know, some of us sometimes as we're going through through life, and we're experiencing different things in different times.

Unknown Speaker 8:49
I think all of that is so valuable. And I want to say sometimes people feel overwhelmed when they're trying to decide where do I start? And how do I tackle this? How do I become a healthier person? And consumption is a really healthy and unique maybe positive is the word way to look at diet because diet sounds like oh, here I go, I have to sacrifice something, there's something I can't have. So I'm taking you know, we'll go through those phases where you know, you get with your girlfriend or you get in some challenge and you give up carbs or you give up sugar and it's hard to even I've been in you know, my spiritual family has done the Daniel fast approach before where for 10 or 14 days you give up meat, sugar, dairy and strong drinks. So strong drinks includes like, you know, coffee, wine or anything that has any type of alcohol to tea, decaffeinated caffeinated drinks, things of that nature. So you're giving up any kind of meat every meet all your dairy, and for those who don't have have already natural discipline to some degree in this space, it really takes thought to plan your diet to plan your your meal plan, and figure out what you're going to eat. So for those who feel overwhelmed, sometimes my trying to structure life in this space was a small thing that you maybe tell people to start with. So they can begin to slowly see the results of better, smarter, more mindful consumption. And then because they see the results, now, I'm encouraged to keep going and to add something else to this plan.

Unknown Speaker 10:40
Yeah, well, a couple of things, you know, one thing that we do know, we consume things based on our palette, right. And a lot of times I do tell clients, or patients, I like to use a challenge plan a little bit more. But I do tell clients that it's important that we feed our talent, possibly a couple of days a week to three, and we are mindful of how we feed ourselves on a cellular level, you know, four or five days out of the week. And because of that, you know, I find that clients understand things a little bit more and understand the severity of how consuming certain things plays a good part or a bad part on our physical body. So for an example, if a person decides that they would like to consume more green vegetables and fruits, versus eating more carbohydrates, such as like bread, rice and pastas, there is a possibility that they are now feeding themselves more on a cellular level than just satisfying the palate. We don't want to take away that satisfaction. But we do want them to be mindful. So when we're narrowing things down, I would say it's always important to make sure that you have leafy greens in whatever it is you're consuming throughout the day. A lot of times we forget the green things, we forget a green apple, we might forget a green tomato, we might forget to have some lettuce and broccoli or spinach, right, those things play a key part in helping build us on a cellular level. And sometimes it's just that simple. However, we have to make sure that people in the audience that we have have access to those types of things, because it's not always about are we doing it, but it is about do we have access to the very things that we just mentioned,

Unknown Speaker 13:00
that is very true. And as we are evolving in our society, in our communities, food insecurity is a very real challenge that families are facing. And then cost is another super huge challenge that people are facing. And then you have the complexities of organic or not, you know getting organic and the costs associated with that stuff. You have touched I mean, that's just a huge sit. That's a very serious space, the access point to it, the affordability to it. But I agree with you. And I think oftentimes we do sacrifice the green leafy vegetables, because when you're busy and you're moving around, it is just so easy. And we're all guilty of it at some point in time of being tired and grabbing. You go through a drive thru and you grab something. But the last thing you think to grab in a drive thru is usually the salad. It's usually you know, something that's fun. It's, I don't know, it's a hamburger, french fries, it's chicken fingers and french fries. I mean, it's just something that she's the fun and it usually doesn't come with anything that's green and leafy. So it definitely takes a consciousness to to do that. And then I think also movement. We often talk you know, people start the new year off and they do the gym membership. And you see you go to the gym at the beginning of the year. And you see all these people on a treadmill on the Stairmaster is trying to figure out how to use equipment over here or whatever it is they're figuring out to do. And then about February, you're like, oh, went all the people go. And they just lose that momentum. And only those who were truly dedicated or who were already there in December in November anyway, you're still there again in February, but it's making the decision that I am important enough to take a walk to figure out something that I can do that makes me move and will make me feel better about myself. And I say to people who have challenged with challenges with doing exercise on a regular setting, because sometimes we get older or joints get stiff or or you have a surgery, maybe there's an injury, or water aerobics, I often encourage people to do exercises in a pool, because of the benefits. So in your line of work, are we right about this? Are we thinking? Am I thinking about this correctly? Is that just a theory that's that has no basis?

Unknown Speaker 15:35
Well, no, you're absolutely correct a movement along with, you know, the things that we decided to consume, along with some of the other things we talked about, you know, decreasing stressors, making sure we have, you know, we're not exposed to different types of, you know, environmental factors that would, you know, be bad for our health, such as, like smoking and vaping, and things like that, you know, I believe that movement is definitely part of it. You know, one of the most important things in my field that I'm learning is that when a relationship with the provider is established, it's easier for the client to have better or healthier outcomes. Because it's almost like a GPS, we're guide, right? When you get in the car, you don't know where you're going, we have an address, we place it in a GPS system. And that GPS system gets us there. There are times when, you know, you can take multiple directions to get to one place, but you still have the guide. And that's one key thing about providers, especially in the primary care setting, when we're looking at health and health care and wellness, that you have that specific provider that you trust, that you have a relationship with, that is capable of helping you to get to the best outcome for yourself or your family. Because the ultimate goal is really the sustainability and the quality of life that we're going to experience while we are here. So the last thing you would want anyone in the community or anyone that's listening to do is to start something, because you did mention, you know, when a person is getting a little bit older, and we all you know, as we age, develop certain arthritic conditions. But the what you want to do is if there is a medical condition, if that person is battling a, you know, chronic medical condition, or any other issue, that they can run that by the healthcare professional, so that health care professional can guide them, guide them in what they consume, guide them in the lifestyle that they decide to live, guide them in any type of exercise or activity regimen that is specific to them. Because what may work for me may not work for the audience. And so we have to be very careful, because, yes, Daniel fast are amazing to those that are capable and able of doing it. But then there are some medical conditions that would prohibit a person from doing those fast. Right. So let me be very clear that, you know, if we're looking at optimizing our health, your first step should always be to link up with a medical professional that you can trust. And I use this term a lot, sometimes it's always great to identify with that healthcare professional, so that these things are addressed.

Unknown Speaker 19:05
I love that because you're saying have a relationship and get to know that person, allow the person to get to know you. And then you feel like the investment in your health. They're invested, you're invested in there's a line of communication, and then there's tracking. And then you can have an honest and personal conversation because all of your conversations with your nerves with your care giver, or care professional. It's a private conversation. So you can you know, you can deep dive into what's going on with you and how to address the issue that you're facing and get the best plan of action, if you will, to try to achieve the adults the try to achieve the results that you want to achieve. And I think that that is very important. And I want to thank you for bringing attention to that because that's so important. And you're right I mentioned you know the Daniel Festus is one The many things that you hear people trying to do, because there's just, I wouldn't want to call them fads. But there's so much out there so many different things than, you know, they're out there trying to entice people try this, do this, do that, because that and one size does not fit all, and my body won't burn fat, the way your body burns fat. So things don't work for me the way they work for the person sitting next to me. And you know, sometimes people look at an individual go, oh, well, you're small. So you don't have like a weight issue or health issue. But I have to tell people all the time, small people have weight issues too, just because my body may be small, my frame may or may not be designed to carry a certain amount of weight. So if I get over this, I have the same issue that the next person has, or I would notice that if my weight went up, my blood pressure would go up, right? And then I came to learn looking at family history. That's another thing we haven't talked about, you know, you have your family history factors, and so on both my mom and my dad sides of the family, hypertension was a concern. So once I got to a certain point in life, all of a sudden my blood pressure was just like it went from one day it was 120 over 72 The next day, it was like 151 over one on one. I was like, What? What happened? Like I went from I can eat whatever I want to know you can't eat whatever you want. Right? I was like, Wait, what happened? who did what? What did I do? Right? What happened to me? I was fine. I mean, literally, it was like, from one day to the next. I went from perfect blood pressure reading to Oh, you're about to stroke out and leave the earth? What brush right? Like, what is going on? To where I could taste salt in food or I can taste sugar in things and I really am like, which is an I thought I was a pretty healthy eater because for me I kind of like when I'm I mean I'm not I don't stop I never slum of course, I do have my what people like to call cheat days. I have my I want what I want. So as you mentioned palette, I'm going to indulge, but for the most part, people always have disordered people who know me, well will describe me as Oh tiny, you eat like a bird. What does that ever mean? You know, you eat lettuce and you know, nuts and whatever, beets and all these vegetables and fruit, which I do. But even with my discipline for the most part, and I would say 90% of the time, probably maybe 85 At least. I really am a conscious I'm also a Mediterranean diet type of consumer of food. But I you know, I have my mom was when I fall off and a cheeseburger is just like a great thing to indulge in. Right? Yeah, you know, we're baking in you know, fried egg and some, you know, let's live it up. But for the most part, I'm pretty disciplined. Yet I looked up one day, and I was no longer free. You know, I was no longer free. Nothing for women as you get older and your hormones change in your body changes. I think diet and exercise are that's an entirely additional conversation when you say

Unknown Speaker 23:30
absolutely. Come off the way it used to

Unknown Speaker 23:37
be laughs It doesn't like and um, you know, my older friends who were like big sisters, because that didn't have sisters growing up. I have two older brothers, but saw the women in my life who become like mentors, and really dear friends and good sisters are like, Oh, no, no, no, when you hit this age, it's just not gonna come up. You know, when you're young, you you feel like you can lose weight in your sleep. If you have a naturally high metabolism. I mean, and I was a person with a naturally high metabolism for a long time. And it's decent, but I used to feel like I could go, you can eat, take a nap. Go party. Go to breakfast. Go to bed, burn the calories in your sleep. Wake up hungry and do it again.

Unknown Speaker 24:25
Yes, yes.

Unknown Speaker 24:27
And now it's like you look at food. It's like do I gain weight and all I did was look at that and it was a salad I just looked at and it was a salad that I looked at this angry.

Unknown Speaker 24:41
There's times when we were younger, we can go to the restroom and lose five pounds now.

Unknown Speaker 24:47
Right? You right, you can't lose.

Unknown Speaker 24:55
Let me say that there's still hope you know you And when I use that time to vote, it's on an individual basis. Because granted, you know, people want to lose weight to be healthier, people want to look a certain way we want to hold on to our youth, as long as we possibly can. And that that kind of segues into something a little bit different when it comes down to women. And I know we're not just talking about men, women, we're just talking about general overall what what can we do in this time, to feel better and and to take care of our bodies, especially, you know, now, but you know, hormones play a key role in how our bodies decide to hold on to weight, and to let go of weight. And that's why it's imperative that because most people don't know, most people don't know that insulin is a hormone. Most people don't know that, you know, when we are looking at our estrogen levels and our testosterone levels. Most of the time, if we bring up testosterone, we're thinking about men. We're not thinking about women having testosterone levels, and when those testosterone levels are depleted, what does it look like for us? What foods will help to boost our testosterone levels and, and preserve our estrogen levels? So there's so much to be said, there's so much information that's out there, especially amongst healthcare professionals, that I mean, I feel like the audience like listen, you know, if you have any type of question about this, and if you're struggling in those areas, now is the time to to seek out someone to to help in your progress or to help if you're you're stuck in an area, but there's so many different resources, Tanya, that our communities can access. Well, while we're

Unknown Speaker 27:07
on that, how can people find you? Well, because we're coming to the end, and I want people to be able to find you, if someone's listening and going. I like her and I want to have a conversation with Shaniqua Hawkins, certified nurse practitioner, how can I find you?

Unknown Speaker 27:27
Yeah, um, you know, we're here at Carroll surface Medical Center. We're located at 2580 North Rancho drive, we're in suite 103, where a telephone call and a text message away. The number is 725-780-7880. And so yes, please feel free to send us a text message or so the number is 725-780-7880. Okay, it

Unknown Speaker 28:02
this has been just enlightening and delightful. I want to say thank you for starting off Black History Month with me here on 91.5. having this conversation this this beautiful Sunday morning. Thank you for all that you do. Thank you for being the inspiration and giving back to the community and to your clients in the way that you're doing. serving them, educating them and being a resource for us. Again, folks, I share she is right there near Rancho and smoke ranch. And she makes well Hawkins congratulations. I know you just celebrated your three year anniversary of being open. Yeah. So before we go, I want to say congratulations to you. And let's go out and celebrate that three year anniversary when you get some time.

Unknown Speaker 28:53
Absolutely. Thank you for having me. I truly appreciate you.

Unknown Speaker 28:56
Thank you for getting up and talking with me this morning. You have a good morning. You too. Have a great week.

Unknown Speaker 29:06
I want to thank you for tuning into the scoop with me telling you Flanagan and I want to invite you to get social with me. I'm on Facebook and Twitter. My name is my handle ta n YAFLA na GA N You can also find me on Instagram at Tanya almond eyes Flanagan and if you have a thought and opinion or a suggestion, don't hesitate to shoot me an email to tanya.flanagan@unlv.edu Thanks again for joining in. Stay safe and have a great week.

Transcribed by https://otter.ai