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Join host Gwendolyn Mitchell on the Love Letters to Our Bodies podcast as she sits down with Dr. Crystal Terry, an anesthesiologist and acupuncturist with over 34 years of experience serving the East Bay. They explore Dr. Terry’s integrative approach to pain management, bridging Western and Eastern medicine. The conversation contrasts Western medicine’s linear approach to pain with Chinese medicine’s philosophical framework and benefits of integrating Chinese medicine, particularly for cancer patients. Tune in to hear Dr. Terry’s message of hope for women navigating pain management and learn how integrative care can make a meaningful difference.

Key Points From This Episode:

• Dr. Terry’s journey from conventional anesthesiology training at UCLA to acupuncture training at the Helms Medical Institute.

• Dr. Terry unpacks the mysterious phenomenon of anesthesia.

• How anesthesia and acupuncture view and understand pain differently.

• Dr. Terry discusses how NSAIDs work to help the healing process.

• How Western and Eastern medicine each see different aspects of health.

• How practicing both modalities changed the way Dr. Terry thinks about the connection between the body, mind, and pain.

• Where acupuncture has made the most meaningful difference in her experience.

• Her advice for advocating for integrative pain management approaches.

• She reflects on how the East Bay’s approach to pain management and integrative medicine has evolved over the past 34 years.

• Dr. Terry expands on the different barriers to integrative care.

• Her framework for clinical decision-making: acupuncture vs pharmaceutical intervention for pain management.

• What she wishes physicians would understand about the role acupuncture can play in comprehensive pain management.

• Her thoughts on the body’s capacity for healing: sleep is the new gold.

• Dr. Terry shares her message of hope for women who feel they’ve tried everything for their pain.

Quotes:

“The most important moment that I have with a patient is before they go to sleep.” — Dr. Crystal D. Terry [0:16:17]

“One of the most peculiar aspects of pain is that it cannot be seen. I can only understand that you're having pain if you report it to me. If you demonstrate this is your experience, but I cannot look on your body and see that pain is happening because it's all through neurotransmitters.” — Dr. Crystal D. Terry [0:19:18]

“I think that the combination of the two modalities is an opportunity to really improve the experience of the patient — the person is having a life during treatment, not just after treatment.” — Dr. Crystal D. Terry [0:27:48]

“Sleep is the new gold — All good things happen with deep sleep. All of the body's healing powers come forward in sleep and do the repairs that are possible and bring things into alignment.” — Dr. Crystal D. Terry [0:46:57]

Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:

Crystal D. Terry, M.D., L.Ac.

Charlotte Maxwell Clinic

Helms Institute

UCLA

Love Letters 2 Our Bodies is sponsored by Moyo Institute, Inc and the Lloyd Symington Foundation
Gwendolyn Mitchell on LinkedIn
MOYO Institute, Inc
instagram.com/moyoinstitute

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Food is freedom, and when we choose to be mindful of what we eat, we give ourselves the power to heal and to nourish our bodies, minds, and souls. Joining Gwendolyn today on the Love Letters 2 Our Bodies podcast is Suzette Chaumette. Suzette is a social entrepreneur dedicated to tackling major health issues, such as diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, and certain cancers, by addressing food and eating habits. Trained as a public health researcher with a master’s degree in maternal and child health, Suzette uses her expertise to show people how to choose whole foods and reduce inflammation through natural ingredients like onions, garlic, and leafy greens. Join their conversation as they tackle how to move beyond negative ideas about growing food, the influence of convenience marketing on our grocery shopping habits, the importance of getting closer to our food, and what that means.

Key Points From This Episode:

• Moving past the negative ideas about growing our own food.

• Food as medicine and what drew Suzette to the healing properties of food.

• Suzette explains how we can still forage for food.

• The importance of getting closer to our food and how this connection supports healing.

• Suzette's thoughts on nutritional considerations for someone undergoing cancer treatment: vitamin A and beta carotene.

• We look at how your body starts talking to you about the food you consume.

• Foods that can help manage side effects, including fatigue and inflammation.

• Suzette breaks down the top three most accessible, nourishing foods or meals to prioritize.

• How our ancestral ways of eating can help us today.

Quotes:

“I was feeling the urgency of getting people to grow more of their food, just given where we are today in our society. I really wanted to encourage people to go back to the old ways, to what their grandmothers and great-grandmothers did as a solution to some of our food issues, right now.” — Suzette Chaumette [0:05:43]

“Understanding that gardens aren't just about food, they're also about your wellness, your stress level. If you spend time out in a garden, your stress level goes down. And there's data to show that.” — Suzette Chaumette [0:13:13]

“The less inflammation in your body, the better — you can eat certain foods that will help decrease the inflammation and help your healing journey.” — Suzette Chaumette [0:41:31]

“I believe that we all have to tap back into our ancestry to eat the types of foods that are going to benefit our bodies the most.” — Suzette Chaumette [0:59:30]

Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:

Suzette Chaumette, M.P.H. on LinkedIn

Suzette Chaumette, M.P.H

Suzette Chaumette, M.P.H, on TikTok

Food Indy

The Food Indy Podcast (Spotify)

The Positively Green Podcast (Spotify)

Unpack the Real Stuff (Spotify)

Black Girl Vitamins

Love Letters 2 Our Bodies is sponsored by Moyo Institute, Inc and the Lloyd Symington Foundation
Gwendolyn Mitchell on LinkedIn
MOYO Institute, Inc
instagram.com/moyoinstitute

Send us a text

Host Gwen Mitchell announces the launch of season three of the 'Love Letters to Our Bodies' podcast, set to begin on January 1st, with new episodes releasing every other Thursday. The upcoming season will feature diverse and insightful topics, including the healing properties of food with Suzette Chaumette, pain management with Dr. Crystal Terry, and emotional freedom technique (tapping) with Jennifer Groebe, LCSW. Additionally, a special segment on Histotripsy, a groundbreaking medical treatment for liver cancer, will be featured. Listeners are encouraged to tune in, follow, and share their feedback on what topics and guests they would like to hear in future episodes.

00:00 Introduction and Season Launch Announcement

00:17 Exciting Guests and Topics for Season Three

01:08 Special Segment on Histotripsy

01:44 Call to Action and Conclusion

Love Letters 2 Our Bodies is sponsored by Moyo Institute, Inc and the Lloyd Symington Foundation
Gwendolyn Mitchell on LinkedIn
MOYO Institute, Inc
instagram.com/moyoinstitute