Thank you for joining the community. The site is shaping up beautifully and I am excited to watch it grow and get all of you more involved.

This site will be a forum to discuss "Top Chef", as well as recipes, seasonal ingredients and the best restaurants to eat at.  There is plenty of room to explore art, travel destinations and music as well as fashion and style advice. My hope is that you will contribute photos and anecdotes, meet other people in the community and share what makes you tick.

Best,

Padma

Thank you Padma for being so courageous and putting yourself out there to help others with endometriosis.  You are a pillar of strength and health for many women and I look forward to following your forum and wonderful recipes as I work to heal my own body and soul!

Jamie

Thank you Padma for allowing us fans to be a part of your life. You are beautiful and very talented in so many ways.

I see that you are a spokes person for sterling vineyards... do you do special appearances at wine stores?

I am going to pick one of your receipes and make if on thanksgiving... i can't wait!!!

Thank you again for sharing your thoughts.

Janki

Hello! Thought I'd drop in and say that me and my wife absolutely love Top Chef. We've watched every bit that has aired here in Finland. Usually after a few seasons most "reality shows" turn stale, while you just seem to find new ways to make every new season better than the previous! So huge thanks for that!

dear padma,

I would love to see you host another travel/adventure/culinary program that focuses on women based orginizations/ charities/ issues all over the world, it is so refreshing to have such a positive female role model that is beautiful, intellegent, socially active, culturaly aware and is not afraid to eat! 

xoxo,

Lisa

Love the current Top Chef season...Very pleasantly stumbled onto this website..Love the whole look and feel of it..this is very you.. Stylish :)

Great site Padma! I like the layout/vibe.  Keep up the good work like always!

I hope that for people, with or without endo, recipes will be provided that avoid caffeine, especially coffee, sugar, wheat, etc.   We must eat food that contains: fish oils, Walnut oil, flax seeds/oil, olive oils. Eliminate the following: saturated fats, butter, animal & organ meat, lard. It is recommended to incorporate 25 grams/day of fibre. Good sources are: whole grains (excluding wheat & rye) beans, peas & brown rice, vegetables & fruits, oatmeal, etc.
The following foods are recommended to modulate estrogen levels by incorporating 1 or 2 servings a day: mustard greens, broccoli, cabbage, turnips.
FOODS TO AVOID: wheat - this includes breads, cakes and pasta products, all based on wheat - contains phytic acid which can aggravate symptoms of endometriosis. Also contains gluten which women with endo seem to be sensitive to.
red meats - promotes neg. prostaglandins which cause inflammation & can also contain growth hormones.
refined and concentrated carbohydrates - white bread, flour, cakes, pasta etc. made from refined flours. Most nutritional value has been removed. refined sugars & honey - causes inflammatory reaction.
caffeine - found in tea, coffee, soft drinks -increases abdominal cramps & caffeine increases estrogen levels.
chocolate -contains sugar which is inflammatory.
dairy produce - including milk, cheese, butter, cream-causes inflammatory reaction as they increase inflammatory prostaglandins.
eggs - advised to leave out eggs unless you get organic as they can contain chemical residue of dioxin. Can also cause digestive problems for some like IBS, and may increase constipation problems (they are used as a binder in cooking!).
fried foods -can stimulate negative prostaglandins.
saturated fats and oils –Foods high in fatty acids stimulate negative inflammatory prostaglandins. Fatty acids are found in saturated fats, butter, margarine, lard.
soy products & soy protein products -tamari can be used in small amts.
convenience foods -contain a host of additives, cheap ingredients & have very little nutritional value.
tinned foods - use sparingly. Certain exceptions are fine like tinned tomatoes, coconut milk & foods that are part of ingredients when cooking a nutritious meal.

additives and preservatives - increase chemical load on system.
alcohol- consumes vitamin B which is stored in liver. Good liver function is vital as the liver will help to eliminate excess estrogen from body. Best regards,

Susan Scherman, Gen. Mgr./Conductor

The Robert Lawrence Orchestra

(212) 506-1964

www.facebook.com (The Robert Lawrence Orchestra)