Smoothie Building 101

Smoothies are like salads. They can be nutrient dense powerhouses … or they can be health food “traps”. Traps that trick you into thinking you are making a healthy choice but are actually loaded with junk and/or are not very good for satiation and blood sugar. So, I’m giving you a few simple steps to check off to make sure your smoothie falls into the nutrient dense powerhouse category and not the trap category. These steps can be used whether you are making your smoothie at home, or ordering it out. When ordering out it’s a little trickier since you won’t know exactly how much they are using of everything. But don’t stress, most smoothie places list the ingredient and you can work backwards from there.

1. Pick a veggie

   I know this sounds weird, why are you putting VEGGIES in a SMOOTHIE? But trust me, smoothies are a great place to sneak in veggies that you will hardly even taste! Plus, if you bulk up your smoothie with veggies rather than fruit (don’t worry there is room for fruit too) it is MUCH easier on your blood sugar and a higher nutrient density (nutrient per calorie ratio). What this all means is that by adding veggies, you can make a more filling smoothie that will keep you fuller for longer and won’t send your insulin (blood sugar regulating hormone) into haywire mode, which, can also cause excess body fat tissue storage. So it’s a WIN WIN WIN.

   How many vegetables should you add to your smoothie? There is no single right answer, but I give my clients a goal to add at least 2. Dark leafy greens are usually a must, so use those and at least one other veggie. BUT if you hate greens, pick 2 other veggies and skip those. I think 1-3 fist size portions is a good amount. Try some combinations and amounts out and see what works for you. Some of my favorite veggies to add to smoothies are:

   • Frozen riced cauliflower: it’s just like adding ice, it makes your smoothie so much thicker but takes on the taste of whatever else you put in there

   • Frozen zucchini: another one that pretty much takes on the taste of whatever you put in your smoothie. If you make your own zucchini noodles at home you can save the “sticks” that come out of the middle to put in smoothies. Or you can just chop up a zucchini into coins and freeze it.

   • Greens: think spinach/kale etc. There is no “best” green, pick whichever is your favorite. You can buy them frozen, freeze your own or just use fresh ones. I personally think frozen has less of a taste, so keep that in mind.

   • Frozen skinned cucumber: I learned this trick from Bethany Urgate of lilsipper and I was surprised by how much I liked it. This is another one that doesn’t add too much taste but it does add a little bit. However, the taste is really refreshing! Without the skin it’s not as gritty and also adds a lot of water so it’s hydrating. I skin my cucumbers, cut them into coins and then keep them in my freezer.

   • Steamed or roasted (then frozen) root vegetables: this includes all types of sweet potato, butternut squash, beets, even carrots. These all naturally have a sweetness to them (unless you are using something like a regular potato or turnip which I did not list for that reason) so they add some sweetness but not as much as fruit. Because they are starchy, they also make your smoothie really thick and creamy (which I personally love). Just please don’t forget to steam or roast them BEFORE you freeze them or you will have a chunky, gross smoothie.

2. pick a fruit

   People ask me all the time “what is the best fruit to add to smoothies” and there is no right answer. Different fruits have different benefits, so add fruits you actually like! (Remember, different colored fruits and vegetables means different phytonutrients which means different “superpowers” for your body). If you have specific goals or are closely monitoring your blood sugar, you can choose a lower sugar fruit like berries. But if that’s not a concern, I think fruits like pineapple, bananas, dates etc. are all totally fine!

   I think the key with fruit is to watch your total quantity. If you’re making your smoothie at home, one fistful of fruit is enough. You can do less if you want too. This is especially important if you’re ordering the smoothie at a smoothie bar/restaurant since they tend to go crazy on the fruit. It’s common to see something like acai, banana, strawberries, mango and blended with coconut water at a smoothie bar. That example could contain 50-100 grams of sugar. This will send your insulin sky rocketing and if it’s not paired with the right things, will just leave you hungry and jittery after you drink it. A way to modify this is to ask the servers to leave out some of the fruit and add a vegetable instead (a lot of places only have dark leafy greens so just add that if you don’t have another option). Also, be sure that there is a protein and fat source (think hemp seeds or almond butter and read on to find out more).

3. pick a protein source

   Quality protein is KEY for a smoothie. Whether you’re having it as a meal or a snack, protein is what’s going to fill you up. Plus, our bodies need us to consume protein through out the day since we really can’t store it like we can fat or carbs. Our bodies do something called “protein turnover” just to exist as human beings, so we need to replenish it throughout the day. I’m not saying you need to go overboard on it but you should have a source in your smoothie.

   Some of my favorite protein sources to add to smoothies:

   • Nuzest pea protein: this is one of the few protein powders I trust. Use this link to purchase and you can use code PRESS15 to save 15%! SO many plant proteins out there claim to be healthy but are contaminated with heavy metals. Nuzest tests each batch to ensure that is not the case. Plus, it’s made with SPROUTED peas which makes it way easier on digestion than other plant-based proteins. Plus it does not have the weird consistency so many other proteins do when you try to bake with them (so it will be good for more than just smoothies)

   • Furtherfood Collagen: Personally I like adding a bit of each kind of protein to my smoothie (Nuzest and collagen) since collagen has unique properties that NO other type of protein has, I try to get it in daily. You can use this link and code START10 to save on your own. Collagen has special amino acids (building blocks of protein) that are not present in any other protein sources other than bone broth. Not even in traditional protein sources like salmon, chicken, egg etc. These special amino acids strengthen the gut lining and therefore improve immune function, reduce inflammation, help your body produce more serotonin and so much more! Plus they also are great for joint, skin, hair and nail health!

   • Hemp seeds: hemp seeds have one of the highest protein content per ounce for any plant-based protein source. Just 3 tablespoons has about 10 grams of protein! So this is a great one to add to your smoothie if you don’t want to use a supplement OR you can add it in addition to one of the supplements above.

   There are plenty of other protein sources you could add to smoothies so don’t feel limited by this. But these are some of my top picks.

4. pick a healthy fat

   Fat is not often the first thing that comes to mind as a crucial component of a smoothie. However, they’re important to add for several reasons. One is that half the vitamins we eat are fat soluble, so if we’re not eating an adequate amount of fat, our bodies can’t absorb these vitamins. Another reason is that fats help stabilize our blood sugar. The thing that spikes blood sugar the most, is carbohydrates. Most smoothies are relatively higher in carbohydrates (fruits, veggies) which is not necessarily a bad thing, since these are healthy, nutrient-dense carbs. But, we still want to be mindful of our blood sugar here and fats will help with that. Stabilizing blood sugar also helps with satiation, so adding fats to your smoothie will make it naturally more filling. You can read more about all of these concepts and the science behind them in my “Don’t Fear Fat” blog post.

   I recommend picking one or two different types of fat per smoothie. Not because you want to limit your fat, just because choosing too many things from any of these categories will make for a less delicious and harder to digest smoothie. Also, sometimes your fat and your protein can overlap (for instance hemp seeds). Here are some of my favorite fats to add below (there are definitely others beyond this list):

   • Avocado: you can keep peeled avocado frozen to make it really easy for smoothie making. This is my absolute favorite fat to add and I add it to almost every smoothie I make. You really don’t taste it, just makes the smoothie super CREAMY!

   • Cacao nibs: these make your smoothie have a chocolate chip like texture without adding any sugar and they add a ton of nutrients (in addition to healthy fats). If I add these, I like to add them at the end so they don’t get blended in all the way.

   • Coconut: you can buy frozen coconut meat which can be great to add to smoothies. It’s very convenient since it’s already in “chunks” that you can throw in.

   • Nuts/seeds/their butters: obviously good old nuts and seeds and nut and seed butters are a great choice. You can do almond butter, chia seeds, cashews, whatever you want.

   • Full-fat yogurt: I like to add my fatty dairy-free yogurt to smoothies, it adds a tangy flavor and also makes it super creamy. If you do well with dairy, this could be another place that your protein could also double as a fat.

5. Add a booster (optional)

   Smoothies can be a great place to sneak in “superfoods” and other nutritional powerhouses that you wouldn’t want to eat on their own. If you know you’re having a smoothie every morning, this can be an easy way to ensure you’re getting a dose of these things while masking the flavor. Some examples of boosters are prebiotics or probiotics, cacao powder, turmeric, and adaptogens. These are by no means a requirement but like I said smoothies can be a great place to sneak them in.

6. add liquid

   Seems obvious but I couldn’t write this blog post without noting that most smoothies need a liquid added. My favorite liquids to add are almond milk (I make my own) or water. You could also do any other kind of milk. Some things you should look out for in liquids you add to your smoothie are the ingredients and sugar. A lot of milks/nut milks have a lot of added unnecessary ingredients (carageenens, gums etc.) so I’d be mindful of these. And then also be mindful of added sugar. Sugar that comes in a liquid (rather than in whole food form) has no fiber with it. This means it has a much greater impact on your blood sugar (insulin) since fiber is usually what would attenuate that response. I do not recommend adding sugar in your liquid, you should already have some sweetness from the fruit you added (which DOES come with fiber) so no need for extra here. This is another thing to look out for at smoothie bars since a lot of them use fruit juice/coconut water etc. as the liquid and this can greatly increase the sugar content of your smoothie.

other tips

• Don’t try and put too many things in one smoothie, especially if you’re new to making smoothies. this will end up with muddled flavors and will be harder on the digestive system. Pick only one thing from each category until you feel like you’ve found some combinations that you truly love and work for you.

• Smoothies really shouldn’t require a recipe or even exact measurements. People always ask me why I don’t have more smoothie “recipes” on my instagram or website and the answer is because I don’t use a recipe when I make them! I use these steps as a guide and just start experimenting (as you should too). Then remember what you did and if you liked it or not, and modify for next time. I think recipes and exact measurements are much better suited for baking than smoothies.

• You can make your smoothies really thick by adding less liquid and more “thickening agents” like avocado, cauliflower, banana etc. Then you can eat them like ice cream with a spoon!

Some of my favorite combos:

• Berries, avocado, cauliflower rice, greens, chocolate protein (or protein with cacao powder), optional healthy fat/crunch: cacao nibs, water or almond milk

• Banana, greens, frozen zucchini, nut butter, vanilla protein powder, water or almond milk

• Sweet potato, cucumber, a date(s), full fat yogurt, collagen, water or almond milk

Enjoy, and can’t wait to hear what delicious creations you make!

A Plea to Stop Counting Calories

I do not take a calorie based approach in my practice. I encourage my clients to focus on eating real, wholesome foods and to listen to their bodies natural hunger and satiation signals. I find clients THRIVE on this method and many are relieved to be freed from years of feeling like a slave to a specific number of calories or “points”. The reason I have people completely ignore calories is because they really are not useful information. Read on to find out WHY they often give us a false sense of control and security that we are making good choices but can actually lead us astray.

You are not getting to the right number

In the United States, there is a 20% margin of error allowed on the calories on nutrition facts labels (1). That’s pretty huge. If you think something is 200 calories, it could be anywhere between 160 and 240 calories. If you extrapolate that margin of error through out your whole day, you could be over 100% wrong in your calorie calculations at the end of the day. Not to mention, this 20% only applies to foods that HAVE a label. But many people track the calories of foods without labels, like an apple for instance. Well if you are logging calories and say you ate an apple, whatever calorie app you are using might tell you that an apple is 80 calories. Which, it might be. But a small apple could be as low as 65 calories and a large apple could be 110 calories. Not to mention, did you eat the entire apple down to the core or was there some left on the core? So there goes that margin of error again. Long story short - it is near impossible to count your exact calorie intake each day, you will end up with a number at the end of the day, but it is not correct. So why spend precious time on earth counting?

Even if you were getting to the right number (which you are not) there is no perfect number

Let’s pretend you could calculate your EXACT calorie intake each day (which you can’t, I don’t care how diligent you are, based on the reasons above there will be some error) what will you do with that number? As much as online calculators and online macro coaches (who often do not have an education in nutrition) will promise that all your problems will be solved if you stick to a certain calorie and/or macro ratio every day, this magic number actually does not exist. Why? Because there are SO many factors affecting your calorie and nutrient needs. EveryDAY and everyBODY is different! So there truly is not a perfect number, it is just another construct created to give people a false sense of security and achievement, or, in other cases, cause unnecessary guilt and shame.

Like I said, every day is different. How much sleep we got the night before (2), our hormone levels (which are CONSTANTLY fluctuating) (3), our activity level (4) and so many factors will impact our daily food needs. Each of these factors changes on a daily basis, and thus, so does our nutrient needs. Also, I didn’t even mention the biggest, but least visible factor on our metabolism/calorie/nutrient needs … our microbiome. I know I might sound like a broken record with my gut talk but it truly impacts almost EVERY part of our wellbeing!

We have about a 10:1 ratio of microbial genes to human genes in our bodies (9). This means that we are more our microbiome (bacteria living in and on us) than ourselves. So it’s no wonder this plays a huge role in how our body functions including our metabolism and daily calorie and nutrient needs. There have been countless clinical studies on how shifts in the microbial community change metabolism and how many calories an individual even extracts from a given food (5, 6, 7). So back to that hypothetical situation where you are able to accurately calculate how many calories you eat in a day, you don’t know how much your body is EXTRACTING. Two specific strains of bacteria that are particularly important to this, are firmicutes and bacteroidetes. The higher the F/B ratio is, the more calories someone extracts from food and the higher their BMI and propensity towards obesity (8). As with most things in the body, gut health plays a HUGE but invisible role. I recommend everyone take a good prebiotic and probiotic like Just Thrive (code PRESS15 to save $$) to help optimize gut health (of course there is much more to this but Just Thrive is a good starting point).

Again, my point is don’t get caught up on a specific number because there really isn’t a perfect number.

not all calories are created equal

Different foods, even of equal calorie amounts, have completely different effects on the body. For instance, some foods have a higher thermic effect of feeding than others. Thermic effect of feeding (TEF) refers to the calorie burn (or diet-induced-thermogensis) caused by eating a food (11). Certain foods like, protein rich foods, have a very high TEF, while other foods have almost no TEF (10). So while two foods may have the same exact calories listed on the label, let’s say 100 calories for the purpose of this example, you may burn 20 calories eating a high protein food that has a high TEF, so you are only absorbing 80 calories, and you may absorb all 100 calories of a food with a low TEF, like a refined carbohydrate. So this goes back to the “you aren’t getting to the right number” argument I made at the beginning of this post. But foods have effects beyond calories too.

Different TYPES (not amounts) of calories/foods have different impacts on our hormones that regulate appetite, metabolism, body fat stores etc. Many people count calories as a means of weight control, but this ignores these hormonal effects. For instance, pure fat has no effect on insulin (13), which, is a blood sugar regulating hormone that can cause excess body fat storage. Fats often get demonized in the diet world because they are calorie-dense. But insulin will play a much bigger role on whether our body stores extra fat tissue than number of calories (12). When people are trying to stay within a certain calorie range, it can often encourage them to opt for “low-calorie” foods, like 100-calorie packs of cheek-its or low-calorie bread or peanut butter, when in fact these foods are much higher in carbohydrates. Carbohydrates are what cause the biggest insulin spike, and thus body fat storage. If these same people did not make their decisions based on calories, and incorporated some healthy fats, which, have no effect on insulin, they may actually lose weight by eating more calories. In fact, this study showed that by pairing potatoes (simple carb) with butter (simple fat), subjects were able to significantly lower their insulin response after eating (14). So by adding calories (in the form of butter) they lowered their insulin and reduced their chance of body fat tissue storage. Thus proving calories are not the best tool for weight management.

Ghrelin is another hormone impacted by the TYPE of calories eaten. Ghrelin is known as the hunger hormone, increased ghrelin will increase appetite. Studies have shown that eating more fat (again, calorie dense) can reduce ghrelin production (15). So eating calorie-dense fats can actually just reduce appetite naturally. Many low-calorie foods do not have this ghrelin-suppressive effect, and in fact, when your body is in calorie restriction mode, it upregulates ghrelin production, thus increasing appetite. If you haven’t yet, you might enjoy my “don’t fear fat” blog post! More proof that a calorie is not a calorie is not a calorie.

calories don’t tell us anything about the long-term benefits or implications of eating a food

Calories tell us nothing about the nutrient value of a food. For instance, any brightly colored fruit or vegetable is loaded with phytonutrients. Phytonutrients are basically plant superpowers. They help the body do all sorts of incredible things: fight off free radical damage and inflammation, improve eyesight, improve metabolic function, balance hormones, detox harmful substances, make hair shinier and so much more (16)! Also, foods that contain omega-3 fatty acids (yep high calorie fat again) have been proven to have beneficial effects on the brain including improving brain development, preventing Alzheimer’s and more AND have been shown to reduce inflammation (20). This has nothing to do with their calorie count, in fact, most foods that contain omega-3s are high in calories. Calories tell us nothing about the phytonutrients, vitamins, minerals, essential fatty acids and long-term benefits that foods can provide our bodies. Additionally, calories don’t tell is which foods can help or harm our gut bacteria (microbiome), which, plays a major role in our immune system, serotonin production, skin health, metabolism and more!

Often, when we get focused on counting calories, we actually choose foods that can be harmful to overall health and avoid foods that are beneficial. I have seen clients, before they started working with me, so laser-focused on a calorie number that they often choose “sugar-free” foods. These foods usually use fake sugars like aspartame, neotame, sucralose etc. Although they are low-calorie, these artificial sweeteners can completely wipe out strains of good bacteria in the microbiome (17, 18). This reduces metabolic function (causing someone to think they need to cut calories even more and probably choose more of these foods with artificial sweeteners and avoid healthful but high calorie foods like those containing omega-3 fatty acids mentioned above). These artificial, low-calorie sweeteners also can be carcinogens, endocrine-disruptors and cause so much more damage (19). So while you may be hitting your calorie goal short-term, they can cause some real long-term damage behind the scenes. These are just a few EXAMPLES of how properties of a food can benefit or detriment our overall health, but how these properties have nothing to do with the calorie count.

calorie counting takes us away from mindful eating

When we get too focused on calorie counting, we forget to think about how foods make us feel and what foods we really enjoy. Counting is truly the opposite of intuitive eating. This goes for both the physical health aspect of food (like I mentioned above calorie counting can discourage health-promoting fats while encouraging low-calorie processed junky carbs) and the mental health aspect of food. Food is emotional and should be enjoyed. When we get too caught up in the calorie count, we often forget to savor and ENJOY our food, which, contributes to our physical satiation and leptin release (fullness hormone) (21) and our happiness, which, is a huge part of overall wellbeing! Also, calorie counting can strip us of our natural skills that help us internally judge portions. When we are too reliant on a number, we forget to queue into our body’s natural signals that tell us we are hungry or full. This can cause both over and undereating. Our bodies know best but we need to listen to them and TRUST them! And remember, they are not calculators! PS - you might like my blog post on the terminology “cheat meal” and why this is not always healthy.

but so and so lost a lot of weight counting calories, what’s up with that

Yes, you can lose weight by calorie restriction but this is a short-term weight loss. Not only does losing weight this way ignore all the underlying health factors we talked about above (gut health, missing vitamins, minerals and other nutrients etc.) but it also can down-regulate your metabolism if you consume too little calories daily (22). This means, too much calorie restriction tells your body it is in “starvation mode” and thus tells your body to “slow down on burning”. So eating less calories actually causes your body to burn less calories and thus slow down metabolism (23). Once you go back to eating a normal amount, people often gain back lost weight plus more. Unfortunately, like I said, I have seen many frustrated clients come to me after having this happen on “diet”programs.

Often diet programs* that encourage calorie restriction without paying much attention to the TYPES of foods people are eating cause rapid short-term weight loss (to keep customers happy), which is followed by a slowed metabolic rate (which can frustrate customers and make them think they need another “diet”), which can then be followed by either further calorie restriction to maintain the same weight, or the customer gains the weight back plus more since their metabolism is now slowed so eating the same amount of food they used to eat causes them to gain weight. I won’t mention any names, but I have seen some very popular and common diet programs do this to NUMEROUS of my clients, who have come to me frustrated and discouraged, understandably so. Which, is why I want to change the conversation around calorie counting and show the science behind it!

*There is one program in particular that I have seen do this most frequently and it does pretend like it pays attention to type of food, but really the designations of types are mostly determined by calorie count and thus it is a low-calorie, low-fat diet. However, that program is not the only offender of this mindset so just be wary when taking on a new “diet”!

eating whole, unprocessed foods is naturally satiating, so there is no need to count

Finally, calories say nothing about food QUALITY! If you improve your food quality, you should not need to count calories. What do I mean by this? I mean, eating whole, unprocessed foods as often as possible. These are naturally satiating and self-regulating so you don’t need to count anything! If you picture yourself eating salmon, sweet potato, and broccoli, you will naturally get full and there is only so much you can eat. Your body will tell you, and you’ll stop eating. If you think of eating a bag of “reduced-calorie” chips or crackers, it is EASY to eat the whole bag (maybe four servings in one sitting) without giving it a second thought. The first meal is higher quality food, less processed and thus, there is no need to count. The second example is of highly processed foods that contain multiple ingredients, many of which actually interfere with our natural hunger and satiation signals (even if the packaging advertises it as low calorie). And don’t forget, eating unprocessed foods most of the time, does not mean you don’t get to eat foods you enjoy. I like to recreate all my favorite treats using only unprocessed ingredients (that link goes to my sweet treats recipes) PLUS indulging in some processed foods here and there won’t kill you and can only contribute to your mental health. And if you’re not counting calories (which by this point, I hope you are not) who cares?!

Please let me know your thoughts in the comments below!

references

1. https://www.fda.gov/regulatory-information/search-fda-guidance-documents/guidance-industry-guide-developing-and-using-data-bases-nutrition-labeling

2. https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/11/161102130724.htm

3. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2937064/

4. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5555889/

5. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3601187/

6. https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/09/120912125114.htm

7. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK154093/?report=reader

8. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5440985/

9. https://www.nih.gov/news-events/news-releases/nih-human-microbiome-project-defines-normal-bacterial-makeup-body

10. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4258944/

11. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC524030/

12. https://www.nih.gov/news-events/news-releases/nih-study-shows-how-insulin-stimulates-fat-cells-take-glucose

13. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=American+Journal+of+Clinical+Nutrition%22%3B+An+Insulin+Index+of+Foods%3B+Susanne+Holt+et+al%3B+1997

14. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7882816

15. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3237920/

16. https://www.webmd.com/diet/guide/phytonutrients-faq#1

17. https://academic.oup.com/advances/article/10/suppl_1/S31/5307224

18. https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/10/181001101932.htm

19. https://academic.oup.com/annonc/article/15/10/1460/170200

20. https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/17-health-benefits-of-omega-3

21. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17212793

22. https://academic.oup.com/jcem/article/88/1/14/2845989

23. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2204100

Let's Talk About Meat Baby

I think a lot of people are confused about meat, especially red meat. One day it’s bad for us and clogging our arteries, and one day it’s bad for the environment. Just like anything else, these blanket statements are not telling the whole truth. We really need to take a deeper look at where and how your meat was sourced to know about it’s impacts on you and the environment. While I don’t advocate for a vegetarian or vegan diet, because as a nutritionist, I understand it is impossible to get enough of certain essential nutrients like vitamin B12 (1), omega-3 fatty acids in their most usable form (DHA) (2), heme iron (3) without supplementing, and hard (but not completely impossible if you are very diligent about it) to get nutrients like vitamin D3, iodine (4), and amino acids that make up our connective tissue and gut lining like glycine, glucosamine, L-glutamine and proline (5). However, I have vegetarian and vegan clients and I support them in their decision and will always try to use my knowledge to help them optimize their health on a plant-based diet. I am also not trying to convert vegetarians or vegans into meat-eaters… do your thing! This post is to educate any meat consumer on how they can make sure the meat they are eating is good for them, the animals, and the environment.

plant-based vs. plant-centric

This is an example of a plant-centric meal, not plant-based. There is a diversity of plants, but also some 100% grass-fed meat.

I am also not advocating for a meat-centric diet in this post. There are actually some cultures who live off exclusively animal products, like the Maasai in Tanzania, and have very low incidences of cardiovascular disease (CVD), diabetes, obesity and live long and vibrant lives (10). So it is possible that eating only meat can be good for you. However, these cultures eat the whole animal (blood, bone marrow, organ meat) etc. so it is like they get the nutrient diversity of eating plants as well. I digress… what I am advocating for is voting with your dollar to do yourself and the entire market a favor by purchasing quality meat.

The last P in my PFFP magic foursome (read more about that here) stands for phytonutrients (which are the compounds that give plants their colors and have amazing super powers for those who consume them). Clearly, I am a big fan of plant foods! I think they should make up the majority of your plate at every meal and snack if possible. And therefore meat/animal products should not be the majority of your plate. This is a plant-centric diet. A diet centered around plants, but that includes animal products as well. I believe this is optimal from a nutrition standpoint because of some of the nutrients mentioned above, protein absorbability and other reasons, which, I can get into in a separate blog post (11). A plant-based diet differs in that it does not include any animal products. However, it is really important to talk about and take a deeper look at the types of animal products we consume.

myth 1: meat is bad for us and red meat specifically causes heart disease

When eating properly raised red meat (not CAFO raised pro-inflammatory meat) in the context of a diet with diverse nutrients and without inflammation, meat does not increase risk factors for heart disease. It’s about WHAT meat not no meat.

The problem with most of the studies that demonize meat in terms of cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk, is that they are correlative studies that rely on food frequency questionnaires. However, there are several large issues with relying on this data: 1) correlation does not prove causation and 2) food frequency questionnaires are not accurate, people either forget or lie about what they eat and 3) a lot of these correlative studies took place in the era when meat consumption, specifically red meat was being recommended against by health officials, so people who were eating red meat were in fact less healthy. And any CVD or other diseases they had were not necessarily caused by the meat (however, the quality of meat is VERY important, more on that to come), but other confounding factors (they exercised and slept less, they smoked cigarettes, drank more alcohol etc.) There are actually no strong clinical studies that show causation with saturated fat (which often comes from meat) and heart disease (6).

In fact, saturated fat, which, can be found in fatty meat, dairy, eggs etc. is actually important for overall health, and if we eat the right kinds it is great for us. It makes up all our cell membranes, is vital for brain health, can improve HDL cholesterol, and is the building block of hormones and neurotransmitters (7). By the way, one of the best ways to reduce your risk of CVD is to increase your HDL cholesterol. A high HDL has actually been proven to be a better predictor of lower CVD risk than a low LDL (8). LDL cholesterol really becomes a problem in the face of inflammation, which, can often result from a diet high in processed foods and yes this includes conventional meat, however, it is not the meat inherently causing the problem. More on what type of meat to buy below. Inflammation can damage our arteries, which is where LDL cholesterol comes in to patch them up. When there is too much LDL patching them up, it can cause a clog and therefore contribute to CVD (7). None of this will happen without the arteries being damaged in the first place (which can be caused by a pro-inflammatory diet). ….So that is the truth behind where LDL got such a bad name.

**Since writing this blog post two important studies came out, one comparing the effects of white meat and red meat on CVD risk factors (they are equal and neither one had a significant impact on CVD risk factors even when including saturated fat) (27). And the second is a meta analysis looking at red meat compared to other diets and the impact on CVD risk factors, which, also did not show red meat had a significant impact on increased risk of CVD, the only diet that did have a significant impact was a high carbohydrate diet (26).

Moral of the story, it’s important to recognize the studies that link meat consumption to heart disease are not telling the whole picture and we really need to update how we look at cholesterol since it is outdated and is not doing a good job of preventing CVD.

truth 1: conventionally raised meat can wipe out our micro biome and throw off our hormone balance but properly raised meat can be extremely nutrient-dense and anti-inflammatory

Cows are ruminants, their stomachs have 4 compartments, and the way their digestive system works, actually more efficient at converting certain vitamins into the usable form. So cows take foods we can’t eat, like grass, and get all the nutrients out, and then we benefit from those nutrients when we eat grass-fed/pasture-raised meat (9). In many cases, we can actually get more of vitamins A, D, and K than we can from just eating the plants themselves. Most of the nutrients are stored in the fat tissue from meat, so eating fatty cuts of meat can be great for us, as long as we are picking the grass-finished stuff (12). The fat in animals is also where the toxins (like antibiotics and exogenous hormones) are stored (this includes dairy fat), if you are not choosing properly raised meat.

When poultry/fish/cattle are raised in factory farm settings (also known as CAFOs, confined animal feeding operations) (19), they are not raised in conditions natural to the animal’s optimal health. What happens? The animals get sick. To combat this, the farmers need to give them antibiotics to fight off the illness, these antibiotics also make the animals grow larger than they naturally would (but they also use growth hormones for that) (13). Then, the consumers eating the meat are getting unwanted antibiotics, and guess what this does? Wipe out their good bacteria (in their gut, on their skin, in their mouths). Since our gut is in charge of our immune system and is where most of our serotonin is produced, this can have unwanted negative implications on our immune systems, our anxiety/happiness, and wiping out our oral micro biome can impact oral health (hello cavities).

Factory farmed cattle are also given hormones to grow faster and produce more dairy. The FDA has approved many of these hormones so they are totally legal and could be hiding in your conventional meat and dairy (13). However, legal, does not mean good for us. I think most of us would say “thanks but no thanks” to the exogenous cow hormones if we knew we were eating them.

So what can we do?

We can vote with our dollar! The more we all purchase properly raised animal products (meat, dairy, eggs) the more the demand for these products will go up, The more the demand goes up, the more the market will have to respond to the demand and increase the supply, hopefully pushing some of the CAFOs which are the worst offenders to the environment, the animals, and to our own health, to change their practices to become more sustainable for all parties involved. As the supply for properly raised animal products increases, the price will also go down, so the consumers will be rewarded in the long-run.

What to look for:

Some good ol’ organic poultry (with the fat/skin on) since I knew this chicken was raised properly, the fat tissue is actually more nutrient dense. Again, in the context of plenty of plants!

Poultry:

Looking for “organic”, “hormone-free”, “antibiotic-free” are all important. There are several different types of ratings and classifications for poultry, so see which ones you can find at your local supermarket. The USDA has a branch called the Agricultural Marketing Services (AMS) which has the following ratings for poultry:

• Free Range: This just means the chickens were allowed out of the coop at some time. There are no guidelines for how long they get to be out or what they are fed. It also does not say anything about antiobiotics and hormones.

• Cage Free: The cage-free label is something that is relevant only for egg laying hens, which, are caged to make egg collection more efficient. It has nothing to do with raising poultry for meat and yet you'll still find the cage-free label on a whole lot of poultry products. It may sound more humane, but it's really just an advertisement of the practices all poultry producers are already employing anyway. Under the AMSdefinition, cage-free simply means that the birds were able to "freely roam a building, room, or enclosed area." So they can be out of a cage but still in a coop the whole time.

• Antibiotic Free: The AMS identifies this as birds who were not given antibiotics from birth to harvest. When you find this label, it is much more likely that the birds were raised in better conditions than a CAFO (confined animal feeding operation). Since animals raised in these large factory settings are subject to getting sick, and cannot make it to harvest without antibiotics. Many farms also use antibiotics to make the poultry grow bigger even if they are not sick, as I mentioned, antibiotics will be passed on to the end consumer.

• No hormones: Hormones for poultry has been illegal since 1959, after it was discovered that humans consuming the poultry were having numerous side effects from the poultry. However, you will still see a lot of manufacturers put this on the label.

• Naturally Raised: this means the poultry was not given hormones or antibiotics AND was only given vegan feed. Vegan feed is not always necessarily better for the poultry (for instance pasture-raised poultry will eat bugs that aren’t vegan) but that is what this classification means. These chickens were only fed corn/grain/soy/wheat/barley/oats etc.) This is different than “natural” poultry which just means that the poultry you are buying is only poultry and no additives (but says nothing about how it is raised). This classification also does not specify that the feed is non-GMO (and 95% of corn and soy in this country are GMO)

• Organic: like other farm animals covered under the national organic program (17), this means the poultry are “naturally raised” and have not received antibiotics or hormones AND their feed is all organic and therefore non-GMO and not raised with pesticides or chemical fertilizers. To qualify, birds must be raised this way from their second day of life until slaughter (18).

You can also look at the GAP (global animal partnership) step rating (this is in addition to the USDA rating). The GAP rating will only appear on poultry raised by GAP standards, and lots of poultry on the market is below GAP standards, so if you don’t see it, that’s most likely why. Here are the ratings and what they mean:

1. Step 1: No cages, no crates, no crowding - baseline standard of 100+ standards to meet. Includes things like space to be chickens and items like straw or bails attached to their barns for pecking and exercise.

2. Step 2: Enriched environment - this includes everything from step 1 and more. These chickens have two different types of enrichments like straw/bails and hanging branches for pecking and exercise. These chickens must also have natural light.

3. Step 3: Enhanced outdoor access - these chickens are given different types of enrichments in their barns and have natural light and go outdoors seasonally.

4. Step 4: Pasture raised - chickens have access to pasture and the outdoors all year round.

5. Step 5: Animal centered - these chickens are kept in small groups and are always on a pasture.

6. Step 5+: Entire life on the farm - exactly the same as step 5, except the birds are processed on the farm (14).

In my opinion, if you can buy organic poultry, that’s your best bet. If it’s also step 3 or above I think that’s even better. It is hard to find step 5/step 5+ poultry but not impossible. Remember, it will cost you a little bit more now, but you can save a lot of money down the line in medical bills.

I took this photo while on a bike ride in Stowe, Vermont, where I got engaged and married and revisit all the time. Stowe is all about sustainable agriculture and livestock and grass-feeding is extremely common there.

Beef:

the classification system can also be confusing. The USDA grades beef as prime, choice, or select, which, just tells the type of beef and not the manner in which it was raised (15). Within these classifications, the beef can be further classified to tell you more about how it was raised:

• Certified Beef: this just says that whatever the classification is, it has been certified by the USDA.

• Certified Organic Beef: means the USDA has certified that this beef has not been subject to the use of growth hormones, antibiotics, genetically modified feed, or animal by-products in raising the livestock.

• Grass-fed Beef: Without human intervention, cattle would eat grass their whole lives. However, these days, most cattle—including those raised to qualify for the organic label—are brought to feedlots and fattened up on grain and other feed (their stomachs are not meant for grains and soy, so this is another reason the animals can get sick). Cattle that are exclusively grass-fed, have a more nutrient dense meat that is actually lower in saturated fat and higher in anti-inflammatory omega-3 fatty acids. Grain-fed cattle have a higher proportion of pro-inflammatory omega-6 fatty acids.

  • The USDA labeling for grass-fed is voluntary. Anything that says “USDA grass-fed” has only been fed grass and hay. Cattle farmers can also voluntarily do third party verification for "100% grass-fed” or “grass-finished” beef. This is required to be verified by a third party like the American Grassfed Association, which, is not a government association but still guarantees that the cows have only been fed grass and hay their entire lives.

  • Feeding cows what they are meant to be fed means a healthier animal, more nutrient dense meat (as I mentioned) AND less need to give them antibiotics and hormones, wow, what a concept!

• Natural Beef: The USDA defines “natural” and “all natural” as beef that has been minimally processed and contains no preservatives or artificial ingredients. Since this should be true of all fresh meat, this label is relatively meaningless.

• Humanely Raised Beef: Different groups have developed standards for the humane treatment of animals. Humane Farm Animal Care (HFAC) Certified Humane and Animal Welfare Approved (AWA) have the strictest standards and are the most transparent. USDA/Organic, American Humane Certified, and Global Animal Partnership are other organizations issuing humane treatment labels.

• No Antibiotics and No Hormones: Producers must submit documentation to the USDA that the cattle were not administered any antibiotics or hormones to use these labels. Note that there isn't any third-party verification or testing for these labels (16).

My recommendation is to look for 100% grass-fed or grass-finished organic beef. This way you know you are doing the best thing for yourself and the cows and like I said, you can think of the incremental difference in price as an investment in your health as well as the health of our planet earth (more on that below). However, if that’s not available to you, do the best you can using your new knowledge. Knowledge is power!

myth 2: producing meat is bad for the environment

I agree with the statement that CAFOs and other factory farming methods of raising meat, are terrible for the environment (as well as the animals and the consumers). However, raising meat is not necessarily worse than harvesting plants. A pound of traditionally raised beef (not 100% grass-fed) takes about 410 gallons of water per pound to produce, this is the exact same amount of water as it takes to produce a pound of rice, and very close to a pound of avocados and cane sugar (20). However, the amount of water required to produce a pound of grass-finished beef is only 100 gallons, less than a quarter of traditional beef and many crops (21).

Rotational grazing, which is how cows should be grass-fed (not left to eat on one pasture and deplete it) can actually improve soil health, and cow manure is an important fertilizer to grow healthy crops. Scientists are actually developing a microbe that can be put into soil to mimmick the benefits of cow manure for growing any kind of plant. When cows go to the bathroom, it adds microbes to the soil, the microbes increase biodiversity underground and help carbon sequestration. Cattle walking on ground can make holes in it for water pockets and allow for natural seed germination. Cattle grazing stimulates grass growth, which is also good for the pasture. Dr Jason Rowntree of Michigan State University reported that regenerative grazing of cattle can produce a 30 – 40% improvement in soil carbon compared to where there was no grazing at all. He also cites that more intensive grazing proved better for soil health than less intensive (22).

The Journal of Soil and Water Conservation actually published several articles and figures that showed if more people employed AMP (Adaptive Multi-Paddock Grazing) which is a type of rotational grazing, it would actually greatly contribute to a large net reduction in greenhouse gas emissions (23). Meat production is not the only place where we need rotation, crop rotation is extremely important for greenhouse gas reduction and overall health of the planet. Our current abundance of mono-crops (mostly corn and soy) are producing emissions just as bad as many livestock operations, however, studies have shown this can be reduced with rotational cropping (24).

truth 1: crops can be just as bad for the environment as meat and when meat is raised properly it can actually be good for the environment

Another pretty picture of meat with plants to leave you on a positive note :)

I am not saying we should stop eating plants! Like I said, I encourage people to get many diverse, colorful plants on their plates when they can. If you are able to shop seasonally and locally, even better. However, plants can be just as detrimental to our environment as raising animals (if not done properly) and unfortunately so much of the United States is now mono-cropped. A recent study done at Tufts showed that a plant-only diet is not the best environmental use of land nor the most efficient to feed a growing population, since some land can only be used for grazing and is not suitable for crops (25).

As meat has been vilified in recent years, we have spent less and less of our grocery money on meat, but is this really making us healthier? In 1982, about 31% of the average American grocery bill was spent on meat vs. 21% in 2011. Where did that extra 10% go? Well the 1982 grocery bill was about 12% processed foods and sweets vs. 22% in 2011… there is your 10% right there (22).

Conclusion

Hopefully this post will make you think twice and do your research on where you buy your meat. Again, I want to emphasize I am not trying to say anyone’s values are wrong if they decide not to eat meat, everyone can make that decision for themselves. However, knowing that part of the population WILL eat meat, let’s make it the right stuff! One of my absolute favorite resources on this topic is Registered Dietitian and sustainable farmer Diana Rodgers, here is a link to her website.

references:

1. https://www.health.harvard.edu/vitamins-and-supplements/getting-enough-vitamin-b12

2. https://chriskresser.com/why-vegetarians-and-vegans-should-supplement-with-dha/

3. http://www.irondisorders.org/iron-we-consume/

4. https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/7-supplements-for-vegans#section6

5. https://medlineplus.gov/ency/article/002222.htm

6. https://sustainabledish.com/coconut-oil-wont-kill-listening-american-heart-association-might/

7. Axe, J. (2019). Keto diet: Your 30-day plan to lose weight, balance hormones, boost brain health, and reverse disease. London: Orion Spring.

8. https://chriskresser.com/the-diet-heart-myth-cholesterol-and-saturated-fat-are-not-the-enemy/

9. https://sustainabledish.com/am-i-less-woke-because-i-eat-meat/

10. https://www.livestrong.com/article/293306-masai-tribe-diet/

11. https://sustainabledish.com/protein-better-protein/

12. Hyman, M. (2018). Food: What the heck should I eat?New York, NY: Little, Brown and Company.

13. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-drug-resistant-bacteria-travel-from-the-farm-to-your-table/

14. https://globalanimalpartnership.org/5-step-animal-welfare-rating-program/chicken-standards-application/

15. https://www.usda.gov/media/blog/2013/01/28/whats-your-beef-prime-choice-or-select

16. https://www.thespruceeats.com/types-of-beef-what-beef-labels-mean-4159782

17. https://www.ams.usda.gov/about-ams/programs-offices/national-organic-program

18. https://www.seriouseats.com/2015/02/what-is-organic-free-range-chicken-usda-poultry-chicken-labels-definition.html

19. https://www3.epa.gov/npdes/pubs/sector_table.pdf

20. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8478283

21. Niman, N. H. (2014). Defending beef: The case for sustainable meat production. White River Junction, VT: Chelsea Green Publishing.

22. https://sustainabledish.com/meat-is-magnificent/

23. http://www.jswconline.org/content/71/2/156.full.pdf+html

24. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0167880918301221?via%3Dihub

25. https://www.elementascience.org/articles/10.12952/journal.elementa.000116/

26. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30958719

27. https://academic.oup.com/ajcn/advance-article/doi/10.1093/ajcn/nqz074/5494814

Top 7 Nutrition Books of 2018

There is always new research going on in nutrition, and sometimes it can seem overwhelming to keep up with. One day canola oil is the most “heart healthy fat” the next day we find out that’s a lie the food and marketing industries have fed to us and that canola oil is GMO, inflammatory and should be avoided (1, 2) but butter is good for us, even though we were told not to eat that previously. AH! It can definitely be confusing.

That being said, I think there are a lot of junk nutrition books out there, mostly people who just write about their own opinions without references to the peer-reviewed clinical research. So just because something is in a book, does not mean it’s true. However, there are a lot of amazing books out there trying to make people LESS confused about nutrition and basing their claims on FACTS. So here are some of my personal favorite nutrition reads of 2018 (note: not all of these books were released in 2018, they were just books I read during the year).

Oh and PS… I usually listen to my books so that I can “read” while I’m driving, taking Claudette for a walk, doing dishes, cooking etc. So if you don’t have time to sit down and read, all of these came in audiobook form too! And none of this is sponsored, just my favorites. See below in alphabetical order.

The Big Fat Surprise by nina teicholz

The author of this book was formerly a journalist who reviewed restaurants. However, as she aged and felt pounds packing on, she began avoiding the foods that all the best restaurants used (butter, meat, and cheese) only to find her weight increasing. This was frustrating to her, and once she started embracing the fatty foods in high end restaurants, she actually began losing weight. This prompted her to investigate the science between the low-fat-diet theory and whether saturated fat is really that bad for us.

Nina takes a scientific approach at analyzing fat in the diet throughout history and throughout cultures and gives solid evidence as to why so many of our current dietary guidelines are misguided. It’s interesting to hear the evidence from a former restaurant-reviewer’s perspective. I personally loved a lot of the evidence about different tribal cultures, that I never would have known about, that live off of mostly fat and their various health markers. This book challenges conventional wisdom and is definitely worth a read!

Brain Maker by dr. david perlmutter

This book is admittedly the most “science-y” of the reads on this list. So if you aren’t into nerding out over nutrition science, I don’t recommend it. Perhaps this is why I loved it so much, but I admittedly had to take breaks while listening to it, and have “podcast days” where I’d listen to one of my favorite nutrition podcasts because my brain just could not handle the information in this book.

Anyways, the book in a nutshell, is an in depth look at the gut brain connection. Perlmutter goes into what’s in our gut, how it works and how that impacts the brain. The book goes into everything from depression, anxiety, autism, ADHD, chronic fatigue, Alzheimer’s, dementia and other brain related disorders and how these relate to what’s going on in our gut. Perlmutter also offers actionable items about how to make sure your gut is in tip top shape! Reader beware - you will learn a lot but the information is dense.

Perlmutter (who also wrote Grain Brain) is a renowned neurologist, lecturer and has been published extensively in peer-reviewed scientific journals (gold standard for research). So the guy is smart. Which, is why this book can be a little too “brain-y” for some people.

Eat Dirt by dr. josh axe

This is definitely my favorite book I’ve read so far on gut health. As most of you have heard me say, the gut is truly the root of all health so it’s an important one! The book is not as science-y (I know that’s not a real word but hey, you know what I’m talking about) as Brain Maker or some of the other books on gut health. Axe makes the gut and gut health easy to understand for the average individual who does not have a science or nutrition background but he also offers a ton of great information so if you do have a background in either of those fields, you will learn a lot from the book.

The book starts out with a personal story about how Axe helped his own mother beat cancer by giving her a gut-healing protocol. Josh also goes into a lot of the everyday things we do as a society to make us “healthier” and shows how these are actually harming us (hello hand sanitizer and avoiding dirt from pets). He gives actionable things anyone can implement through out the book, as well as little quizzes to help you evaluate your own gut health. I think most people could learn a lot from this book.

Dr. Axe is a chiropractor, doctor of natural medicine and certified nutritionist. He’s young, vibrant, and knows a ton! I also love his products Ancient Nutrition (you have probably seen me post about them on instagram). Mainly, I trust his products because I know there is science behind them!

Eat The Yolks by liz wolfe CNTP

This is another super informative book that starts with the author’s personal health journey. Liz takes you through her teens and twenties and a history of trying every fad diet, counting calories, hiring trainers, but nothing working. She then discovered the paleo diet through a trainer, and began feeling great. This prompted her to do her own research on our current national nutrition recommendations and what is truly healthy for us. She goes into the research and proves wrong so many conventional guidelines and tells you what you should eat and why. The book is in no way restrictive or didactic, it’s just informative and relatable. Liz also is hilarious (anyone who has listened to her Balanced Bites Podcast) knows this. So you’ll be learning and giggling the whole time.

Liz Wolfe is a Certified Nutritional Therapy Practitioner, co-host of the Balanced Bites Podcast, mother and creator of the Balanced Baby-Making and Beyond program (which I have also done). This book is another great read for anyone, whether you are in the field of nutrition or not, you’ll get a lot out of it and laugh while doing it.

Food - What the Heck Should I Eat? by dr. mark hyman MD

If you are going to read ONE book on nutrition in your entire life, make it be this one. Dr. Hyman takes a no nonsense approach to clearing up all the confusion about nutrition. Each chapter covers a different topic and tells you what you should know about it. The chapters include “meat”, “poultry & eggs”, “milk & dairy”, “fish & seafood”, “vegetables”, “fruits”, “fats & oils”, “beans”, “grains”, “nuts & seeds”, “sugar & sweeteners” and “beverages”.

Dr. Hyman tells you what you should look for, what you should avoid etc. and he does everything in laymen’s terms. This is the holy grail of eating for optimal health, in my opinion. The book shows you food is medicine, which is one of Mark’s core principles, but it also shows you how many of our modern food choices are perpetuating disease. He backs up all his claims extensively with research yet keeps it easy to understand (as I said). Dr. Hyman is opinionated, and that is a criticism of his work sometimes, but he backs his opinions up with facts so I like that he takes a stance on everything. I’ve recommended this book to clients, family members and friends and have gotten great feedback from all of them. You won’t leave feeling like you can’t eat anything, you’ll leave feeling empowered with knowledge. And, it’s a great resource to reference back to.

Dr. Hyman is a practicing family medicine doctor, functional medicine doctor, and founder of the Cleveland Clinic Center for Functional Medicine, The UltraWellness Center and is on the board of the Institute for Functional Medicine. I also love his podcast, “The Doctor’s Pharmacy” in which he interviews guests that talk about various topics that show food is medicine.

Genius Foods by max lugavere

Another book written with a personal agenda at heart. Max Lugavere was formerly a film-maker and political journalist working for Al Gore’s TV station. However, when his mother’s neurological health started to degenerate (they later found out she had Alzheimer’s), he decided to switch gears and use his investigative background to research brain health and what the average person can do to preserve theirs.

This book takes you on an informative narrative that might make you cry (hearing about him watch his mother decline) but at the same time gives you information about what you can eat for your own future as well as your loved ones. Lugavere specifically drills into what dietary patterns make our brains work, what can stop them from working, and how you can improve your own cognitive function even if neurodegenerative diseases run in your family. Max gives you his 10 genius foods that anyone can incorporate and even gives you some genius meal plans at the end of the book. Max’s narrative voice is young, and relatable. He teamed up with a neurologist to write the book, so there is plenty of scientific data backing everything up. Max also has a podcast, The Genius Life, that is one of my favorites.

Real Food For Pregnancy by lily nichols, rdn

I have read this book two times in entirety and have gone back to reference it countless more times. It is a refreshing break from the outdated, under-researched, overly-restrictive nutrition guidelines given to pregnant women today. I really like my Obgyn, but I have to say I was extremely underwhelmed with the advice they gave to me around eating. In fact, I think it was just a sheet of paper with, you guessed it, some outdated advice that is not based on research (don’t eat sushi or deli meat or raw eggs) … well turns out not all of these things are bad for pregnant women, and many of them are actually good for pregnant women. There was also no information on what you should be eating during pregnancy (aside from folic acid, which is actually a less bio-available form of the B vitamin folate) more on all this to come in a separate blog post (3).

If there is one thing Lily is good at, its RESEARCH. You can trust this book (probably more than your OB) because she gives you all the scientific data behind every single thing she recommends. I know my doctor doesn’t do that. Although Lily is a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist, she goes by the data, like I said, which means she often challenges the advice given from the American Dietetics Association. Her unconventional approach is refreshing but also full of truth. So whether you are pregnant, or think you might like to be some day, you will learn a ton from this book. She goes into a whole foods approach for pregnancy (and provides meal plans at the end) and also has a chapter on exercise, which, I found extremely useful.

Lily Nichols is a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist, Certified Diabetes Educator and mother herself! I felt like Lily was a friend of mine after reading the book twice, and to be honest, I wish she was. Goals…

references:

https://www.canolawatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/20110309_FPJ_Aut11_Beckie.et_.al_.pdf

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/2190-4715-23-10

https://chriskresser.com/folate-vs-folic-acid/

Don't Fear Fat

Fat gets demonized in our culture. Both on our bodies and fat that we eat. And there is the common misconception that eating fat will make our bodies fat. I am here to tell you that neither dietary fat or body fat should be put in a blanket category as “bad”. I would also like to put out that dietary fat does not make our bodies more fat!

Fat doesn’t make us fat

The real scientific name for dietary fat is lipid (1). The real scientific name for body fat is adipose tissue (2). Lipid does NOT equal adipose tissue. End of story. So we can all get the eating fat makes us fat narrative out of our heads. In fact, eating fat can do just the opposite, if you read on I will tell you why.

The thing, or hormone rather (since hormones control everything), that causes our bodies to store fat is insulin (5). And there is only one macronutrient that does not cause ANY insulin response when eaten - fat (3). So therefore fat is not what is making us fat. Insulin is released in response to glucose (blood sugar) (4). Carbohydrates cause the largest insulin response, and protein causes a small insulin response but as I said, fat causes none. This is not to say you need to avoid carbohydrates and protein altogether, it is merely to show that fats need not be limited and feared especially for people who are aiming for weight loss or want to avoid weight gain. In fact, this clinical study showed that by pairing a potato (mostly carbohydrate) with butter (fat), it actually lowered the postprandial insulin response of subjects (6).

Eating Fat helps our bodies function optimally

Not only is fat not to blame for if there is extra fat tissue (adipose tissue) stored on our bodies, but it actually helps our bodies function optimally:

First of all, half of the vitamins we eat are water soluble (the B and C vitamins) and half are fat soluble (vitamins A, D, E and K) (7). So if we aren’t eating adequate dietary fats, our bodies can be nutrient deficient, even if the rest of our diet is very nutrient dense. Because our bodies won’t be able to properly absorb , store and use these fat soluble vitamins from all the healthy foods we are eating if we don’t eat enough fat too. The beautiful thing about eating fats from nature is that you get the fat soluble vitamins WITH the fat so you don’t need to worry about anything. For example: grass-fed dairy is a great source of vitamin D (but when we remove the fat and make it fat-FREE dairy, we then have to fortify it with extra vitamin D, seems a little counterintuitive, right?). Another example is pasture-raised egg yolks are rich in all of the fat soluble vitamins (A, D , E and K) and they are also full of essential fatty acids to help your body absorb them. So why did we start eating egg whites again? A third and final example (there are many more but I want to move onto other dietary fat benefits) is almonds and almond products (butter/flour etc.) These are rich in vitamin E and guess what, they are fatty to help our bodies absorb the vitamin E! Yay vitamins and yay fats!

Fats are crucial for brain clarity, cognitive function, mood boosting and to prevent neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s, ADHD, epilepsy and more. Omega 3 DHA fats are a crucial part of a developing baby’s brain (11) but their importance does not stop at childbirth. They are crucial for the rest of life and by giving the brain fuel, reducing inflammation in the body and the brain and enhancing something called “brain derived neurotropic factor” or BDNF (12). BDNF is a protein that promotes the survival of neurons (or nerve cells) to keep our brain healthy (13) (so we want more of it and thus want omega 3 fats). Omega 3 fatty acids (EPA and DHA) have even been shown to help treat depression, this meta-analysis (analysis of 40 relevant studies) shows these beneficial effects (14). However, it’s not just omega 3s that have beneficial brain effects. Coconut oil can help prevent memory loss and has even been shown to improve Alzheimer’s symptoms (15). Egg yolks are rich in choline, a B vitamin, which among other things, improves cognitive function (16). Olive oil improves learning and memory (17) and avocados are rich in vitamin A & K (which help prevent blood clots and therefore strokes) and also can boost memory and cognitive function (18).

Fats are crucial for physical and mental satiation. Just picture eating a piece of plain toast. You would probably be hungry shortly after. Now picture eating an avocado toast, or even better, an avocado toast with an egg (whole egg not egg white). Now you’d DEFINITELY be full for at least a few hours. So what’s the difference? Fat. Fat slows our digestion so other nutrients release more slowly into our bloodstream. This is especially important when paired with carbs, because it prevents a large insulin spike (AKA signaling body to store glucose as adipose tissue) and crash subsequently after (AKA cravings & jitters central, ever been “hangry”?… yeah, fats will help with that.) Fat is actually negatively correlated to post-prandial (which means after eating) insulin response (8). This means that the more fat you eat the less your insulin rises so fat has a stabilizing effect on your blood sugar! Many studies have also shown that dietary fat can increase Peptide YY (PYY, a satiation hormone), increase Cholecystokinin (CKK, another satiation hormone) and decrease ghrelin (a hunger hormone) (9, 10).

What kind of fat should I eat?

Simple answer is all types of fats that have not been chemically altered by man. For instance cold pressed olive oil or avocado oil has not been chemically altered by man. It has merely been squeezed out of a fruit without changing the chemical makeup. Canola oil, however, actually goes through an industrial extraction process using hexanes that changes the chemical makeup of the oil (19, 20). So when you are thinking about what fats to include in your diet, think of if you know how they were made. Avocado - safe, grass-fed butter - safe, egg yolk - safe, coconut milk - safe. However, removing fats from these items can alter the nutritional value of these naturally nutritious foods. Choosing fat-free versions of these foods is essentially the same as choosing fats that have been chemically altered. I will do a separate post on types of fats to avoid but for now, we can drop the fat fear and enjoy our fatty food from nature!

references

1) lipid. (n.d.) Miller-Keane Encyclopedia and Dictionary of Medicine, Nursing, and Allied Health, Seventh Edition. (2003). Retrieved March 14 2019 from https://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/lipid

2) https://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/fat

3) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=American+Journal+of+Clinical+Nutrition%22%3B+An+Insulin+Index+of+Foods%3B+Susanne+Holt+et+al%3B+1997

4) https://medlineplus.gov/ency/imagepages/8812.htm

5) https://www.nih.gov/news-events/news-releases/nih-study-shows-how-insulin-stimulates-fat-cells-take-glucose

6) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7882816

7) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK218749/

8) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=American+Journal+of+Clinical+Nutrition%22%3B+An+Insulin+Index+of+Foods%3B+Susanne+Holt+et+al%3B+1997

9) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23688821

10) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30550892

11) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29316994

12) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30867119

13) https://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/gene/BDNF

14) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4013121/

15) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3437664/

16) https://www.health.harvard.edu/press_releases/egg-nutrition

17) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21955812

18) https://draxe.com/15-brain-foods-to-boost-focus-and-memory/

19) https://thecoconutmama.com/how-canola-oil-is-made/

20) https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/2015/04/13/ask-the-expert-concerns-about-canola-oil/

Why Safe Beauty & Self-Care Matters

These are some of my favorite brands that have cleaner beauty.

Our skin is the largest organ in our body (12) AND it’s a part of our microbiome AKA closely tied to our gut. Skin health, gut health, and emotional/brain health all go hand in hand believe it or not. I know most of my followers and readers of this page are healthy eaters and conscious of the food they put IN their microbiome, but what about what goes ON it?

That’s where clean beauty and skincare come in. Most over the counter makeup and skincare contain tons of toxins. If you want to check your products, you can measure them on the Environmental Working Group “skin deep” database. The FDA requires no premarket review of the safety of cosmetics. Instead, the cosmetics industry is supposed to “self police” through its Cosmetics Ingredients Review Panel. Over the 36 years that this has been in place, the panel has rejected only 11 ingredients (1). In contrast, the European Union has banned hundreds of chemicals in cosmetics (2). Most of my makeup comes from Beauty Counter, which takes the utmost care in its ingredients (not sponsored), and I have an instagram post outlining some of my other favorite brands. Feel free to email me with any questions about Beauty Counter products, I’m happy to answer!

Remember, the containers we use to store food and water can contain these harmful compounds too, and they can leech into our food. This is why I recommend stainless steel and glass.

Personal care products are manufactured with over 10,500 unique ingredients, many of which are known carcinogens, endocrine disruptors (hormone disruptors), known toxins and more (3). For instance, a common ingredient “phthalates”, has been shown to interfere with proper reproductive function in babies whose mothers were exposed to it during pregnancy (4, 5). Phthalates can be found in personal care products (READ YOUR LABELS), they can leech into food when microwaving food in plastic containers, they are found in soft plastic and vinyl products as well. You can read how the National Institute of Health warns about phthalates (6), and other endocrine disruptors in our environment (7).

Even fragrances, which can seem innocent, and are added to SO many products, can contain numerous hidden chemicals. Because of the labeling laws for fragrances in the United States, companies do not have to list individual ingredients of their “fragrance blend”. Therefore, companies will just lump any harmful ingredient in the category of “fragrance” so that they do not have to disclose it. A 2010 Environmental Working Group study found an average of 14 chemicals not listed on the label in the top products containing any kind of “fragrance” (10). What makes this all worse is that skincare products are not made to stay onto the surface of the skin, they seep into our skin and can even enter the bloodstream (3).

Hopefully the above information will make you think twice about what you put on your skin daily. However, it’s not just our skin and beauty care that bad chemicals can sneak into. It can also be what we brush our teeth into, some of which, is ingested every day. Two ingredients to look out for in toothpaste are SLS (sodium lauryl sulphate), which has been shown to irritate skin and even cause cancer in multiple studies (8, 9) and fluoride, which, is also often added to water. Fluoride has been linked to everything from thyroid issues, bone and joint disorders, neurological issues such as ADHD, reproductive issues and more (11). It’s scary to think that most conventional drugstore products can actually be dangerous for us. But considering we use these products daily, it is worth another look. I use this Dr. Bronner fluoride and SLS-free toothpaste (it’s made of all ingredients you recognize) and this Hello charcoal activated mouthwash.

What now?

The point of this blog post is not to scare you or send you into a frenzy. It’s merely to educate you so that the next time you are buying a personal care item, you can make a more informed purchasing decision. You also don’t need to feel like you need to throw out 100% of your products and buy new ones overnight. This is daunting, expensive and time consuming. However, if you want to do it, be my guest. A more approachable way to conquer this task is every time you have a product you used up, replace it with a cleaner alternative. You can use the EWG “skin deep” site or app to help you. I think this is especially important if you have children or are ever planning to have children. We can give the next generation a better chance than we had because now we have more knowledge.

references:

1. http://www.fda.gov/Cosmetics/ResourcesForYou/Consumers/CosmeticsQA/ucm167234.htm

2. http://ec.europa.eu/consumers/sectors/cosmetics/documents/directive/#h2-consolidated-version-of-cosmetics-directive-76/768/eec

3. https://www.ewg.org/skindeep/2011/04/12/why-this-matters/

4. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16079079

5. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19919614

6. https://www.niehs.nih.gov/research/supported/assets/docs/j_q/phthalates_the_everywhere_chemical_handout_508.pdf

7. https://www.niehs.nih.gov/health/materials/endocrine_disruptors_508.pdf

8. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30784350

9. https://www.nicnas.gov.au/chemical-information/imap-assessments/imap-group-assessment-report?assessment_id=184

10. https://www.ewg.org/research/not-so-sexy

11. https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/154164.php

12. https://www.webmd.com/skin-problems-and-treatments/picture-of-the-skin#1