#337: Healing Cancer Holistically with Special Guest Dr. Katie Deming

#337: Healing Cancer Holistically with Dr. Katie Deming

I’m so happy to get to share this interview with you today. Listen in to empower yourself to take control of your health. 

Hello, my friend. If you’ve been listening to *Be a Better Lawyer* for a while, you may know that I was diagnosed with breast cancer when I was 29 years old as a young trial attorney.

What you may not know are the details of the treatments or that I was diagnosed with breast cancer for a third time earlier this year.

When I was diagnosed a third time, I realized that Western medicine wasn’t cutting it. 

I also recognized that there was more to the diagnosis I received than cancer being in my body.

There were underlying factors—physical, emotional, and spiritual—that contributed to my health.

I was in a different place in my life where I was no longer willing to follow the same path as I had before believing that doctors held all the answers. 

I was no longer willing to accept the status quo in my treatment.

That’s when I decided to take a holistic approach.

I’m happy to say that within 6 months of working with Dr. Katie Deming — who I’m introducing you to in this episode — I am now cancer free.

That’s right. I did a completely holistic approach to healing, and that holistic approach healed me.

For those of you who may be skeptics, I want you to be a skeptic. I was a criminal prosecutor for 16 years, so I get it. I didn’t believe anything at face value.

But I knew that what I was doing wasn’t working the way I wanted it to, and I was willing to do the work to see for myself what was possible.

I go in depth in a companion episode I did as a guest on Katie’s podcast. Her podcast is called Born to Heal, and I’ll link to our episode in the show notes at dinacataldo.com/337

dinacataldo.com/337

In that episode, we go in depth into how I worked with her to implement a healing-focused nutrition plan, a 14-day water fast, and what I learned from my experience this time around.

I hope you go and listen to that episode and share it with anyone who may be facing a health challenge right now.

The show notes also include a few words from me about best practices that I follow as well as a couple of my favorite tools that I’ve adopted since working with Katie.

In this episode of Be a Better Lawyer, I want to introduce you to Katie and how she shifted from being an oncologist to now helping people like me take an approach that Western medicine doesn’t yet feel comfortable with.

Dr. Deming shares insights into how to heal cancer holistically and how her own experiences led her to shift away from conventional medicine.

Her approach goes beyond just treating symptoms; it addresses the root causes of illness by calming the nervous system, detoxifying the body, nourishing on all levels, and aligning with yourself.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

✔️ Why focusing on the root causes of illness is crucial for long-term health  

✔️ How a mindful lifestyle can help prevent chronic conditions and promote overall wellness 

✔️ Practical ways to improve the quality of your water, food, and daily habits to support healing  

✔️ and so much more!

Dr. Deming’s insights on healing cancer holistically will resonate with anyone who wants to take a proactive approach to their health. 

Listen in to learn how to begin empowering yourself to take control of your health.

Dina Cataldo:
Hello, how are you doing today? So, today's episode of Be Let Better Lawyer is gonna be a little bit different than maybe what you're used to, and that's because I have brought on a very special guest, Dr. Katie Deming, who's going to be sharing with you some amazing insights into your health. And the reason I wanted to bring her on is because if you've been listening to this podcast for any length of time, you probably know that I've been diagnosed with breast cancer back when I was 29 years old, and I was a criminal prosecutor doing trials. Well, I had been diagnosed three times in my lifetime, once when I was 40, or when I was 29, the second time when I was 42. And then again, earlier this year at 44.

Dina Cataldo:
And this time I wanted to do things differently. And I wanted to do things that weren't necessarily things that traditional western medicine taught us, because I saw from my personal experience that that just wasn't cutting it. And I knew that there was something else going on. I'm not gonna go real deep into this story right this second because I just did an episode on The Born to Heal podcast with Dr. Katie Deming that dives deep into the story. I mean, if you want all the details about my story, I really want to encourage you to go listen to the episode that we just recorded together. And I'm gonna link to that in the show notes. What I want to do here today is introduce you to an entirely new perspective, an entirely new perspective on how you take care of yourself, on how you are connected to yourself, on how you might be viewing, just how you move through your day-to-day life, and how that's impacting your health. So I, I really am excited to bring Dr. Katie Deming to you. Katie, could you please just introduce yourself? I'm so excited to have you here. Thank you for being here.

Dr. Katie Deming:
Absolutely. Thank you, Dina, for having me. So my name is Dr. Katie Deming. I am a former board certified radiation oncologist. I practiced for 20 years as a radiation oncologist and also as a healthcare leader. So I ran end-to-end cancer care for a very large healthcare organization. And then I had an experience similar to a near death experience in 2020 that showed me what we were doing was not correct. It was not how the body actually heals. And so in 2022, I left my career in Western medicine and I took a little over a year off to heal myself, just not that I had cancer or anything, but just to do internal work on myself so that I could be prepared to serve in a new way. And now I have a practice called Conscious Oncology that really is a holistic approach to healing cancer. And I help people along a, a broad spectrum because of my experience in traditional Western oncology. I help people who are doing traditional therapies, but to do kind of integrative therapies along with them all the way to helping people who don't want to do conventional therapies and heal completely naturally. So I span that whole continuum to help people wherever they're at so that they have options to heal their body and really shift out of the patterns that created illness in the first place. Mm.

Dina Cataldo:
And I really do wanna encourage people to listen to that episode that we just recorded on the Born to Heal podcast that you host, but I wanna give a spoiler, which is, you helped me cure cancer. that seriously is the spoiler here. My friends like this. This was amazing, you know, with the experiences that I've had in the past, and then getting to, to talk to you, Katie, and like really understand this other perspective of what was possible for me and my body, because I thought I was really healthy and I was in a lot of respects. It's not just about the food you eat, there's so much to connecting with yourself and really integrating all of these different aspects of health, because it's not just food, it's not just exercise. It's, it's so much more. And when we worked together this year, like the, the proof was in the mammogram.

Dina Cataldo:
I had about, was it been six weeks ago, maybe eight weeks, where I have been totally cured of cancer. So I wanted to just lay that out because I don't think I made that clear in the introduction, is that that's really what we're talking about here when we really get to the bottom line, is the way that you are now approaching disease in our culture. It, it just shows that what we have been taught is not the whole picture. It is not the be all end all. And so that's why I really wanted to bring you on here is to share this perspective. And is that, and,

Dr. Katie Deming:
And I just wanna say that Dina did it without any conventional therapy. So I didn't do, I just was supporting alongside you, but you did this without the conventional therapy. So this was done completely naturally, which I think is important for people also to know.

Dina Cataldo:
Thank you. Yes. I mean, I didn't do, there was no surgery, there was no chemical anything. There was no radiation. This was purely the work that we did. And, and I think maybe we should just lay that out right now is just kind of an outline of, you know, some of what you and I talked through in terms of getting me to the point where I am now, which is, you know, healed from cancer.

Dr. Katie Deming:
Yeah. So my approach which I call conscious healing, is really has four steps in it. And the first is that we work on calming the nervous system, then detoxifying the body, getting rid of toxins that are making us sick. And those toxins can be physical, could be from the food that we're eating, could be from the products that we're using, could be environmental to emotional toxins and mental toxins, the thoughts that we have. And then also spiritual, like being out of alignment. So first thing we calm the body, then detoxify. And then the third thing is nourish the body. We start to nourish our whole selves with what it needs. And again, this is physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual. And then the last piece is creating alignment. And alignment from my perspective is spiritual alignment. So aligning with who you are authentically. And this work that we did together is over 12 weeks, when I usually work with people, it's over a 12 week period. We address all of these different areas to help clean you out and nourish you with what you're designed to be nourished with. And then get you aligned in all areas of your life. So, you know, relationships, job connection with yourself, you know, who are you at your core that a lot of us have been conditioned out of being who we authentically are. So that's really the work that we did together. Mm-Hmm.

Dina Cataldo:
, I mean, there is so much more, and we went in detail in that episode, but you know, specifically for the lawyers that are listening to this episode, a lot of them are really stressed out. They are working like I was 50, 70 hour weeks. Their whole life is really about work, even when they're not at the office, they're thinking about work. And one of the things that I know for sure is that that is not how we are meant to be living our lives. Like that is us disconnected from a natural rhythm of living. And so I wanted to ask you to speak to that because I know you have that same experience. You've gone through, you were a doctor in western medicine, you went through those similar experiences. Can you speak to that and that disconnection?

Dr. Katie Deming:
Yeah. Well, I get you, I get your audience because I was just like all of you before and, you know, the training for, to become a doctor and then working in the field is all consuming just like the work of an attorney. And I think that, you know, I, for me, my, the lens that I look through is, is around cancer, just because that's the world that I live in. But if we look at what the incidence of cancer was, you know, in the early 19th century, so about a hundred years ago, one in 33 people would get cancer in their lifetime. Those statistics today in 2024 are one in two men will get cancer in their lifetime and one in three women. So this is a problem that is something we should all be concerned about, and it is related to the modern lifestyle.

Dr. Katie Deming:
And work is part of that, right? We are basically doing things that our bodies, minds and spirits were not designed to do. We were not designed to be on a computer working, you know, 50 to 70 hours a week, and we're designed to be outside and connecting with nature and getting sunlight and eating whole foods. But when you're busy, right? You're then eating processed foods. You're eating food from restaurants that's takeout, that you don't know actually what they're putting in things. And the, it's not anyone's fault. So this is the thing is it's not our fault, but it is our responsibility to recognize what's happening, that we are getting sicker as a population. And my goal for people who don't have cancer is just to bring awareness to recognize we are getting sick as a population. And cancer is not the only disease that is on the rise.

Dr. Katie Deming:
So obesity is epidemic, diabetes, neurodegenerative disease, all of these things are exponentially rising and it's related to the way that we're living. So the thing is not that we're gonna, you know, drop our careers and everyone's gonna go, like sit on a mountaintop in the sun and, you know, ground in the earth all day long. That's not, I don't live that way. I live a modern lifestyle, but I have awareness around these things that we need to be getting for nourishment, and then also the things that are potentially creating toxicity in our bodies so that we can, number one, limit the toxicity that we're taking in, but then two detoxify the things that we just can't get away from because they're basically everywhere. So I think it's, for me, it's just about awareness and not scare tactics. Like you don't have to be scared of the world that we live in, but when you start to have awareness, you can start to make choices that support your body in staying well, because I don't wanna see you in my office. Mm-Hmm. , I don't wanna see Dina ever again in office , and I don't wanna see any of your audience in my office either. And so there's simple things that we can be doing to help ourselves stay healthy in the modern world.

Dina Cataldo:
And I think what you said there around choices is so essential because it comes down to those moment by moment decisions that we make. I notice this in my day-to-day life. I look at, okay, well do I want to eat this or that? Do I wanna purchase this or that? And when we become more mindful, then we have the opportunity to make better choices when we have the ability, even just the information that you're giving us, right? To say, for instance, for me, sugar is a big, no-no sugar and cancer, they just don't mix. So sugar's out. And I am looking at, okay, what can I eat? Like, is this okay? You know, or, or is this even like something I want, does this even feel good to me thinking about eating it? Because I know if I look at cookies, like, yeah, I really like cookies, that's one of my favorite things, but do I want to eat a cookie with loads of sugar in it?

Dina Cataldo:
No, that's not something that is in alignment with who I want to be in this version of me, which is a totally different version. Someone who is mindful of what I'm eating and knows the impact of that food on me. But it's just a moment by moment decision. It's not something that where, and I think this is where a lot of people get overwhelmed, is that there's so many decisions we're thinking all at once, and we have to be perfect at all these decisions and that it's just gotta be, otherwise there's something we're gonna hurt ourselves, you know, if we, if we make one bad wrong decision. Can you speak to that perfectionism? Because I know, you know, the people listening right now, they are, they, they're high achievers. So if they want to go all in on something, they're gonna go all in on it. But I also wanna speak to that overwhelm and perfectionism and how to really stay out of that and where they can start small.

Dr. Katie Deming:
Yeah. Well, I think there are some basic concepts that just are helpful in general for all of us. So eating whole foods, like things that are real foods, like not packaged foods, not processed foods are always going to be better options for you. And that includes like protein powders and all these, you know, people think that they're doing well by, you know, eating smoothies with all of these protein powders or, or that kind of thing. It's like, in general, I try to look for foods that are whole foods and then, you know, looking for things that have been sprayed with pesticides. So choosing organics, fruits and vegetables. And then with your meats, you know, we want the foods that we eat if they were animals, to be raised in a way that is in the best interest of those animals, right? That is the way that we used to eat.

Dr. Katie Deming:
We would raise our own animals or we would hunt, and so they would have a full lifespan rather than industrialized farming and ranching the way that it's done today. And those are, you know, pretty, I think everyone knows that. I don't think that there's anyone that's gonna be like, oh, I didn't know that there's a difference between industrialized farming versus, you know, regenerative or, you know, something that comes from your farmer's market. So it's one of those things where you don't have to be perfect, but when you have options, choosing two real foods that are treated humanely that have not been sprayed with pesticides is going to be good for you. Right? That's like a very basic thing. And then just in general, sugar is a problem for everyone. It, it is definitely with cancer, something that we want to avoid, but in general, sugar is getting us in trouble as a population.

Dr. Katie Deming:
This is the diabetes, the, you know neurodegenerative disease, obesity, all of those are tied actually to sugar and carbohydrates and eating very high levels of carbohydrates. And so when I'm in doubt, I think back to like, how did our ancestors eat, right? And our ancestors, they would catch game, you know, they would hunt and then they would gather you know, fruits and and vegetables in season, right? And this is another thing that I think is a big misdirect, the whole idea of veganism and that we're supposed to eat all these vegetables all day and never eat any meat. And if you think back, like what we see in the grocery store of all these vegetables and fruits is not real world that is created by modern society. And that is also a problem. And so I just tend to like, okay, let's think back, how did we used to eat?

Dr. Katie Deming:
How, 'cause our bodies are designed based on the way that we've evolved. And so when I get in doubt, I kind of go back to those things. And a lot of the things that we eat today aren't even food considered, basically food. And a lot at standpoint. So I, that's the first thing that I think about. And then the other thing though is that it, it comes down to identity, you know, and I think that especially your listeners probably identify with, you know, high powered, productive you know, efficient, like go-getters doing the things. But one of the things that if we want to be healthy is identifying with someone who's healthy and makes healthy choices. And that can be, you know, it's like an 80 20 rule. Like I say, 80% of the time you're gonna be good. And then of course you're gonna go out and you're gonna have birthday cake when you go out to a friend's party or whatever, and you don't beat yourself up over that, that's fine. Mm-Hmm, , it's fine to celebrate, but we don't wanna be doing that every day. So I think there's an identity piece of this, of, you know, you can be someone who is driven and, you know, doing all the things in the world, but also be healthy as well and focused on your wellbeing. And I think if they're listening to your podcast, they're already taking care of themselves and think thinking about these things of how do I take care of myself better?

Dina Cataldo:
I mean, it's interesting, right? Because I, I remember back when I was in trials or even after that, like, there's, so the way lawyers, and I'm sure that this is how doctors work too, is like, there's just so little time. It's just move, move, move, move, move. And so oftentimes health becomes the last thing on their mind when it comes to the food in their, in their office. Sometimes they don't bring food, they're not planning ahead. And I, I, you know, I've coached lawyers on this, on how to create those habits and that identity of somebody who's healthy. Because if you want to perform well at trial, you've gotta be eating well. You've gotta be taking care of yourself. If you want to have longevity in the practice, if you want to enjoy your practice, enjoy your body, enjoy like more energy every single day, then you've got to make this a priority. I'm like watching the video and I'm like.

Dr. Katie Deming:
Cute.

Dina Cataldo:
Yeah. , yeah. It's so cute. But it's like, it's really paying attention to where are we not setting ourselves up for success, right? Where are we saying, well, you know, I don't have time for this right now, I'm gonna have a Snickers, which is something that I used to do back in the day. It was like, oh, okay, that's, that's satisfactory, right? Let's have a, let's have some sugar bar. Well, that's not necessarily going to give you what you need. And it's definitely not hearkening back to like, how did our ancestors eat? What was it that made sense to eat? Because what makes sense to eat and what is ultimately, I, I've noticed such a huge difference in how I'm eating, is that connection and understanding of where the food comes from, right? They're not, it's not just food. It's actually an animal that has feelings and wants to have a life.

Dina Cataldo:
And if you watch some of those industrialized processing techniques, it is so painfully disconnected to watch how people are handling ground beef, for instance, you know, to, to watch just how it is now a product versus how important it is for to sustain life, right? Like, we are so fortunate, and yet we don't necessarily put the pieces together anymore because we aren't the ones taking care of the animals. We're not the ones who are, you know, in a, in a farm type situation. Right? So, so what, I don't know what I, when I was just kind of sharing what I'm hearing, but or what I've experienced, but what comes up for you when you, when you start talking about those kinds of subjects with your

Dr. Katie Deming:
Yeah, yeah. Well, I think one thing to recognize is that as professionals, you've been conditioned into a specific lifestyle. And same thing with doctors. So doctors are like the worst at nutrition because like literally we would eat out of vending machines and we're up 24 hours a day with like fluorescent lighting and all that stuff, and you're, you know, my superiors would be like, you don't have time to eat, so go grab a Snickers bar. They're like telling us to do these things. And I'm sure for you guys, when you're so busy and you're training and you're doing all these things, you've been conditioned into habits that are probably not good for your health. I'm not saying that everyone, but for most part, in a profession like law, it's quite common that people have been conditioned into this. And so I think it is recognizing and having awareness around that of what you've been conditioned into and that the story that you've been told is one that is making us sick, right?

Dr. Katie Deming:
And making that connection of like, this is why so many people are sick, is because this is happening all over. And so when you recognize that, then you have to make the decision of, okay, well if I don't want to be one of the statistics, you know, one in two men or one in three women developing cancer in their lifetime or these other conditions, you need to start to make changes. And you, you brought up a really good point that this takes attention and preparation and it may require hiring someone to help you. So, you know, my practice now for a little while when I was you know, ramping up, I had time to prepare my food and, and do that. And then as I became busier in my practice, I realized I need an assistant who's gonna help come in and, and make food for me.

Dr. Katie Deming:
And it, that's a priority. So I pay to have someone come in and she's at the store right now going, buying pasture raised chicken and, you know, organic vegetables to make me a home cooked meal for my family so that I can eat properly. And it, you know, especially if you're a professional, the beautiful thing about that is that most of the time we have the resources to pay other people to take care of us. But if you are just eating fast food or eating out a lot, so one of the things I think people don't think is, even if you're eating at nicer restaurants, they're using seed oils to cook the foods, which is quite inflammatory. And so the, the closer you can get to the source of your food and making sure that you know, really what is going into what you eat is really important. And this is, you know, just one piece that we're talking about, but the food is like 80% of it. I feel like if you can really get your food right, the other things, you know, are easier to fit in. But I think the food is one thing that we just get so conditioned into this convenience culture of just grabbing things and not, you know, thinking ahead. But I think it requires forethought and real intentionality to live differently than the way most Americans are living.

Dina Cataldo:
Yeah. I, and I definitely saw that in my habits. 'cause You and I worked on that pretty extensively. There was a lot about nutrition that I simply didn't have awareness of, but once I had that awareness, I was able to make some changes. And that's a big deal. We don't have that awareness because we are in this culture of fast food and I don't have time, and I'll do that later. You know, and we, and especially as women, I talk to a lot of women on this podcast that put themselves last, you know, my health isn't as important as, you know, my, my workout, my whatever it is, just isn't as important as fill in the blank. So that kind of thing that you're speaking to here is something that I think everyone experiences and they know what they need to do, but oftentimes they're just not doing it.

Dr. Katie Deming:
Yeah. Well, and this is a quote from a coach and I don't know exactly where this came from, but I, I actually think it's spot on. It's like, you can either make time for your wellness or you'll be forced to make time for an illness. Yeah. You know, and I'll tell you that, and you know this, if you get diagnosed with cancer, you're gonna make time, and then you're gonna figure it out. So it's like, what I would love for people is to make time for that now before they get sick, so that they don't have to experience the crisis of an illness to stop their world and, and rearrange everything, you know? And the other thing too is that this is one thing, especially with high achievers, is the whole perfectionism. It doesn't have to be perfect. We're just trying to make progress.

Dr. Katie Deming:
Like, I, I, you know, just making one decision that's better today than yesterday, and then tomorrow maybe you're making another decision that snowballs and will eventually create the lifestyle that you want. You don't have to do all these things overnight. And I'll tell you this, because I had the worst habits possible. I was completely disconnected from what I was eating and what I was putting on my body and like how I was living because I was so busy as a mom of three children and a working doctor. And then I had a business on the side, and I just, you know, doing all the things. And so when I left western medicine, and then I started to see this where I was like, oh my gosh, we're getting sicker and like, and I'm teaching these things, I gotta, I gotta change my whole life.

Dr. Katie Deming:
It was overwhelming when you start to look at the things. But I was like, okay, don't do that because I know that also will make us sick if we get totally caught up in the perfectionism and the worrying about everything. If you're afraid of everything that you're eating, that's also not gonna be good. So what I did was I was like, okay, this month I'm gonna look at what laundry detergent can I switch? And I switch that out, and then the next month I'm like, okay, what can I do with my skincare? And I'll just share this one. 'cause This is easy. So cast oil, oil, I'm 50 years old. I am just wearing like a little bit of blush and mascara and lipstick, but I don't wear makeup. I only use castor oil in my skin. That is it. And it's amazing. You don't need anything other than castor oil for your, like all the wrinkle creams and all of that stuff.

Dr. Katie Deming:
You just don't need it. So it's like, there are simple solutions, but it's like just making those changes like one at a time. Mm-Hmm. So I think that you can, you'll get overwhelmed if you're like, oh my gosh, everything's toxic in our environment. Which is true, but it's like your body has adapted. And so if you can just start to eliminate some of these things over time and just make it a project and not make it overwhelming, that is gonna help you get to where you wanna go, rather than saying, I have to like, change everything all at once. Mm.

Dina Cataldo:
Yeah. And this was something that I wanna talk to in relation to water, because water is the most important. I, I don't even know how to, how to explain it. The most important element of our lives. It gives us life, literally. And yet for so long, I didn't pay attention to the quality of the water that I was drinking. I, I knew that, oh, you know, it's there. It's always there. You know, it's very easy to take for granted. We're so blessed to have, you know, turn on a faucet and water comes out. But the quality of the water in most areas that I have looked into, and in my neck of the woods here in California, it's, it's not great. It has a lot of chemicals. And I learned that so many of those chemicals contribute to diseases like cancer. And so I started looking into filtration and then I just took one step at a time.

Dina Cataldo:
I just got my, my water filtered with, you know, a good, you know, filter out the fluoride and get one of those reverse osmosis filters. It's like, okay, on the counter I can do that. But then I learned so much more. I learned that later through you and how to really start paying attention to the quality of my water. And so I wanted to ask you if you could speak a bit to taking a step like that, or even to the water generally that we're drinking. 'cause I know you have a big passion for the science behind health, and so I wanted to just pose that to you.

Dr. Katie Deming:
Sure. So we are water. Basically, if you look at the molecules in our body, so by volume we're 70% water. But if you look at the molecules, 99.9% of the molecules in our body are water. So we are like, walking bodies of water, and the water in our bodies is really important, the health of that water. And so with tap water, I think people know, you know, there's fluoride in the water, which fluoride actually can cause learning disabilities in children. You know, this is a big problem actually. Fluoride causes a lot of developmental delays in children, but it's also carcinogen. Chlorine is also a carcinogen. All of us have chlorine in our water. There are other carcinogens in water as well. You can go to environmental working groups, so ewg.org and look up water, and you can put in your zip code and it will tell you what contaminants are in your water.

Dr. Katie Deming:
But, so there's carcinogens in the water, but then the, the, the thing that people don't realize is there's pharmaceuticals in the water. So chemotherapy drugs in the water, antidepressants, antibiotics, all of the things that people are taking, one of the things that happens with the sewer water is that it is cleaned with the other water and then they run it through with chlorine to clear that out. But it's quite disgusting actually, the way that municipal water is treated. And there are studies that were done now. It's like over 15 years ago, there were some studies that looked at testing municipal tap water and showed that all of these pharmaceuticals are in our water and people just don't know, you know? And so we think that we're doing good by drinking water coming from the tap. But the truth is, is that that water really needs to be filtered.

Dr. Katie Deming:
Like the, the basic thing that you can do for your water is to filter it. And I'm gonna tell you something that's gonna upset a lot of people is that the carbon filters, like the Brita, the Braun, the pure, your refrigerator filters do not filter out those contaminants. They don't filter out the pharmaceuticals and they don't filter out the carcinogens. So you need something like reverse osmosis or a nanofiltration system that will basically filter your water to get rid of that. And it's so funny, like someone was asking me, it was like for, you know, it was some PR thing, they were asking for an article, you know, what is the one thing that I won't eat at a restaurant? And I said, well, it's actually drinking. I will never drink tap water or ice at a restaurant because it's terrible. Yeah. You know, so water is, is really, really important.

Dr. Katie Deming:
And filtration is the number one thing. And reverse osmosis is gonna be your most effective way to filter out the water. There are some like little ones that you can do in the refrigerator. I think it's clearly filtered. I have no affiliation with them, but I just bought one for my son who's renting an apartment that they, that is adequate, that you just buy it and you put it in your fridge. But other than that, I would say reverse osmosis. But filtration is just kind of like scratching the surface with the water because and this comes from the work of Dr. Gerald, who's at the University of Washington. It turns out that water doesn't just come in three phases. So we think of water as being liquid or, you know vapor or steam or solid as an ice. And, but it turns out that water actually exists in a fourth phase, which is a gel-like phase.

Dr. Katie Deming:
And people may have heard of structured water, structured water is this gel-like phase. And it turns out that the water in our bodies, when it's optimal, it's actually structured into this gel-like phase. And our ancestors knew this. So like in the desert, people can survive without drinking water by eating plants because plants, the water in the plants are structured just like the water in us should be structured. And a lot of the toxins that we have in our environment, and then also our lack of nourishment is affecting the structure of the water in our cells. And so the structuring of our water is really important. And so you can drink structured water, but you don't actually have to drink structured water. We structure the water in our cells through infrared from the sun. So getting sun exposure is not only good for vitamin D, but it's also good because it structures the water in your cells.

Dr. Katie Deming:
The other source of infrared is human connection, you know? So being connected with other human beings, hugging someone, holding someone, holding a child, being with a pet, those are all sources of infrared that actually structure the water in our cells connecting with the earth. And this all comes back to your connection, right? Yeah. We're in, we're designed to be in connection with nature. And what this does is it helps us structure the water that we are. So that's the second thing is that our water structuring the water, not only the water that we drink, but also that the water that we hold is important. And then the last piece is mineralization. So water should be mineralized. And this is something if you do reverse osmosis, it strips the, the minerals from the water. And also tap water is not mineralized the way that it should be. And so you can just put like a pinch of salt in your water to help with the mineralization. But when you have adequately filtered water that is mineralized, and then you take that in, your body's able to use that to create optimal hydration. If you're not getting those things, then actually a lot of times we're just peeing the water out and we're not actually retaining it to have the i ideal optimal hydration in the body.

Dina Cataldo:
Yeah. And that was really essential towards the healing that, you know, you and I worked towards with me. I did a water fast, it was 14 days, and the water was incredibly important. That was what was sustaining me and clearing my body of toxins. And that was, you know, really eyeopening to me that that connection I had really lost the connection with so much of like the food I ate and the water. Like, even though I, I would practice that I felt after this experience that I just had so much more connection because of the, the deprivation I had from the food. And, and, but also because now I could appreciate it more and I understood it more. So I think you just explained that beautifully, that what we have become accustomed to in our society, we have been tolerating as a society is subpar connection with what we, it's a birthright, right? Is proper nutrition and water. Right. And we have been, as a society told, no, you're gonna get it meted out to you in this way when that way that we are being given is making us sick. Yeah. And I, I think that that is really what, I guess, I don't wanna use the word anger, but that's what it is. It's just like, it's just like, and, and this, it's a disappointment in what we have been tolerating and also what we have been told is the truth. Yeah.

Dr. Katie Deming:
Well, and also the other thing that I, I think this is one of the things where I realize that anger is can, can make us sick. So I I, I don't get angry at the system, but I am eyes wide open now. Yes. You know, I think this is one of the things is you just have to open your eyes and start looking around and say, okay, the things that we've been conditioned into believing are okay, are making us sick. If you look at the statistic, you just, and this is the thing is you have a smart audience. These are highly educated people. If you look at the statistics, the statistics, the direction that we're heading in is not good. Right. We are getting sicker and sicker as a population. So obviously there are things that are not right. But the other thing that is amazing in that is that the human body adjusts.

Dr. Katie Deming:
Yeah. You know, 'cause this is one of the arguments that they'll say, well, not everyone's getting sick. And it's like, that's true because our bodies are miraculous and our bodies have learned to deal with so much toxicity. But if we can start to help make better decisions to fuel our body with what they actually need, and looking at the narrative and recognizing, okay, I, I don't trust the people who were in charge. Like the food pyramid is a complete farce. Right. It's ridiculous. The food pyramid was basically funded by dairy, the farmers, you like the ranchers basically. And then also the food industry that they, they created that, that was not based in any science. And they actually admit that, that like, there's a little disclaimer on the side is like, this is not based in data. It's like . Okay. So, and we know that what's happened since that was introduced in the eighties, we've just gotten sicker and sicker.

Dr. Katie Deming:
So I think it's just important to recognize, okay, maybe we can't trust the people in charge to say what's best for our bodies, but then we can start to make decisions. And, and I think getting back to that, connected to the food that we eat, connected to the water that we're drinking and water is the source of life. It's alive. Right. And so I think if there's one thing that your audience could do to, for their health right now is to get good filtration of their water, making sure they're mineralizing the water. If they can structure it, that would be great too. But like, I just think water is the foundation. If you can get that right, that is gonna help your body start to clear some of the other stuff as well.

Dina Cataldo:
Yeah. And it's such a simple thing. I mean, I bring my water bottle with me everywhere. I no longer drink tap water. You can tell the difference when you, like, I, it was a such a stark contrast when I started bringing my water and I, I forgot it one day. It was early on and I had water at a restaurant and I'm like, this is disgusting. Like, I can't drink this. And I had previously been able to drink that water, but when I had this total change in the way that I treat my water, 'cause it's really like how we, or how are we caring for the water that we're putting into our bodies? Yeah. It changed my perspective on this. And I can tell, you know, based on, on, you know, just the, the work that we've done together, how different my body feels with it. I'm definitely more hydrated. Yeah.

Dina Cataldo:
Yeah. I wanna transition a little bit here and talk to you about what you help people with really and how you help people. And for those people who might be listening right now, and either they're in a health crisis or they're, you know, they, maybe they've had a diagnosis, maybe they have a friend who has a diagnosis of some sort. I wanted to ask you, what, what do you do in terms of, you know, when somebody comes to you, like what are you looking for? What are you talking to them about? What are you helping them with?

Dr. Katie Deming:
Sure. Well, when someone sees me in consultation, I'm really doing usually one of three things. So people come to me for one, they're trying to make decisions about treatments that have been offered to them. And that's specifically within the cancer realm of they've been given a diagnosis and a doctor has made a recommendation and they're trying to figure out do they wanna do this? Or maybe they have reservations and they're wanting to understand it. So I help them understand the data and the statistics. What are the benefits of the potential treatment? What are the side effects? What are the potential complications? And help alleviate fear so that they can make decisions from a really grounded place in data. And then really using their own values to drive their decisions rather than fear. 'cause A lot of times people's decisions within cancer is based out of fear.

Dr. Katie Deming:
So that's one thing that I do. The second thing is root cause. So a lot of the illness that we're seeing, you know, the cancer treatments that we do don't deal with the root cause of the illness. Right? In, I was taught in Western oncology that cancer is a genetic condition. But actually if you look at the statistics, and this was one of the things in my practice that was a little bit of a, you know, light bulb moment is like, wait, only five to 10% of cancers are genetics. So 90% are not, you know, and it means that something else is causing it in your life. And so I helped you re root cause evaluation to help people understand, okay, what in my life may be contributing to the development of cancer or other illness in the body? And then the third thing that I do is help people develop holistic treatment regimens, like how to approach their cancer from, or, you know, illness from an holistic approach.

Dr. Katie Deming:
And I think one of the things is that the alternative space is quite it's almost like the wild, wild west, like anything goes, like western medicine is very protocolized. And it's like you have this diagnosis, you're, everyone's getting this exact treatment. And then the alternative space is like, wow, like I don't know what to make of all this stuff. And so I I kind of bridge the, you know, where, because I have this very traditional training and then now I'm in this new space and I really use data and science to drive the recommendations that I make. I help people develop plans for what should I do, what can I do? Because there's like a thousand things that you can do to heal naturally, but the truth is not everything is right for everybody. And understanding, okay, given your circumstance, what makes sense also based on your budget.

Dr. Katie Deming:
‘Cause Some of these things are very expensive. And so really helping people understand that. And then past consultation, if I meet with someone and they wanna work together on like a plan, then I work with them like I did with you like over 12 weeks where we really dive in and we start doing the practices to help get them in alignment and detoxified and nourished and, and do that whole process of, of looking at all areas of their life to help bring themselves back to themselves. And, and, and this is the thing, our bodies are designed to heal. Like our bodies know how to heal. And we don't think about this when we get a cut on our finger. We don't think twice about it, right? Because if we've seen a cut heal hundreds of times, but with cancer, we think about it like it's different, but actually everybody has had cancer cells in their body. But when we have a optimally functioning body, it rids itself of those cancer cells. And so what I'm doing is just helping to clear the body out, out and help get the nourishment that people need so that their body can do what it already knows how to do, which is heal. So it's really just, I'm helping clear away the, the stuff that's getting in the way of healing so that your body can do what it already knows how to do.

Dina Cataldo:
Yeah. And, and one of the things that I really appreciated about that first consult is that you don't go in with an all or nothing approach. You're very circumspect. You hear all the facts, and then you want to know more about, you know, the, in this case me and what my priorities are and what I want. And then you're really doing a check-in is, is what's being suggested by western medicine consistent with what you want? And let's, let's check in and are there other options? Well, here are some other options and here's why your doctor suggested what they did. There are other options. Would you like to hear them? Right? Like those kind like you had us, we had this really open conversation that really allowed me to see other possibilities that I was not given. There were options that I just simply was not given by my doctor.

Dina Cataldo:
Not because she was, you know, unaware of them or not, or because she didn't care. You know, it was because in her opinion, based on the information that she had, that was what she suggested. And what she had suggested for me was specifically a mastectomy. And that was something that was not necessary. And it was something I certainly did not want, but that was something that I almost thought reflexively was required because she had suggested it because I have been so conditioned to believe that, oh, well if she says it, obviously she's the person in authority. And so therefore I should listen to that opinion and that that opinion is more than the feelings that I'm having and that this just isn't right. So just being able to have that opportunity to have the consult and allow myself to have that authority again, to see that there were other options really allowed me to do the work that I did to heal myself. So that, I wanna thank you for that and I wanna make sure anybody who's listening who is in a, in a situation in which they feel like, oh, this is the only option, that they know that there is another option and that they can speak to you if this is appropriate for your practice.

Dr. Katie Deming:
Yeah. Well, and I think that, you know, one of the things that's important in there is that I, I don't believe to know the right answer for anyone else's body. You know your body better than I do. What I wanna do is just bring awareness to all of the options so then you can make decisions. And actually if you think about your decision processes that we didn't say like, oh hell no, you're never doing a mastectomy or whatever, we just, we work together to get your surgeon on board to give us a little bit of time like, Hey, you know, this is a stage zero. Can we, you know, have three months to do some holistic things and then reevaluate and see if you still need that mastectomy. And I think that's, that's one of the differences that I bring to my practice that's different than someone who's like purely an alternative practitioner.

Dr. Katie Deming:
And they're like, hell no. Everything in Western medicine is absolutely bad. It's like, I don't know the right answer for you. It might be right to do this treatment, or it may not be, but my job is to just come alongside you with 20 years of experience and knowledge, both conventional and holistic to help you get in touch with what your body is really telling you is right for you. And I think that's one of the things, and especially with highly educated people, you know, they don't wanna just jump off the deep end and be like, screw all of that. I'm just gonna go, you know, whatever, swim in the ocean and like ground on the beach and we're gonna heal. You know what I'm saying? That way it's like, no, that's not my approach. My approach is grounded in like, okay, I believe that there's, you know, potential benefit to all of these different options. And what I'm trying to do is bring awareness so that you get to make decisions that are in align with your values and also safe and you know, not gonna alienate you from your doctors or whatever. We're working as a team and I really do believe that we always do better together. You know, if we can bring professionals together to make better decisions, we're gonna get better outcomes.

Dina Cataldo:
Yes. Do you have anything else that you would like to share as we kind of wrap up? I know I wanna make sure they know where to find you and all of that good stuff, but I also just wanna know whether or not there's anything you'd like the people listening here to know.

Dr. Katie Deming:
Yeah. I think that one of the big things is not to be afraid. You know, like sometimes when we start to talk about these things, then it's like, oh, then now I have to be afraid of everything. And that actually is also causes problems. So I have clients who have been eating right and doing all the right things, but they're doing it from a place of fear that everything is making them sick. And that also creates disease in the body. So it's really this like, you know, we heal when we're at peace. And so what I'm hoping for people is to create awareness so that they can make good decisions for themselves, but ultimately that we're not afraid. We are standing in our power and we're empowered to create the health in our bodies. That is our birthright, like you said.

Dina Cataldo:
Mm. And and when you said that, it just reminded me of how much love I began feeling for the food that I was consuming every single day. Like how much connection I began to have. Paying attention to the food that I was, I was eating, the, the meats and, and the vegetables that I was consuming. It was a totally different experience. And just having the awareness of how the food was impacting my body, how the water was impacting my body, made a big difference. And it was out of love and it was out of peace and gratitude. And so yeah, the energy you have behind preparing your food and you know, eating your food is incredibly important.

Dr. Katie Deming:
Absolutely.

Dina Cataldo:
So thank you so much for being here with me. Can you please share all the places where people can get in touch with you?

Dr. Katie Deming:
Sure. So my website is katie deming.com and I have a podcast called Born to Heal, where I share my story of leaving western medicine. So the, that starts in season three, which is February of 2024. And then moving forward I share, I bring on guests who share information that I wish I had been taught in medical school. So all of the things about healing that were just not taught in western medicine. And then you can find me on Instagram, I'm at the conscious oncologist.

Dina Cataldo:
Beautiful. Thank you so much for being here. I really appreciate it. And you know I love you.

Dr. Katie Deming:
Yeah, I love you too. So thank you so much for doing all that you do, and it's been a pleasure to be part of your winning team.