The P:E Diet, a book review
The P:E Diet is a book by Dr. Ted Naiman and William Shewfelt. It is a user manual for how to eat and how to move in order to be a healthy human. 📖🏃💪 At a glance, the book has three parts Ecology and Evolution…
Author: Jillian Ceasrine
Why I Intermittent Fast
I have seen significant improvements in my health since I implemented IF (intermittent fasting) 1.5 years ago. I practice a 16 hour fast with an 8 hour feeding window 6 days a week. Once a week I practice a 20-24 hour fast. I have seen…
Breaking Bread The Podshow
I started a Podshow! Well, we did – my boyfriend and I – started a podcast.
Why we started a Podshow
a manifesto
We believe:
Cooking is an act of creation.
Cooking is important.
Cooking leads to sharing food.
Sharing food leads to strong relationships: friends and family!
Sharing food together brings the best conversations out.
Cooking is a birthright.
Developing cooking skills should be accessible and fun.
Continue reading Breaking Bread The Podshow
Plant-based to meat-based- A Dietitian’s Story
The start of my health journey I have always had an interest in nutrition. This interest (borderline obsession) probably stemmed from a combination of being an athlete, being raised by a health-conscious father, and (if I am being honest), vanity. It was a natural choice for…
One-Sheet Pan Dinner
Choose protein Choose and chop veggies Add to pan and drizzle with fat and seasoning At 400F, everything should be fully cooked within 30-40 minutes. Feel free to experiment with different cooking times, temperatures and ingredients!
Healthy Habit Tips
Where to start if you are looking to clean up your diet
Hey guys! I put together a list of 4 healthy habit tips that I follow on a daily basis. I have found these tips to be a great starting place for anyone who is trying to lead a healthier lifestyle. Whether that be for weight loss control, improved mood, improved focus, blood sugar control….really anything health related. This article does not dive too deep so if you have further questions, feel free to write me in the comments. 😉
1. Eliminate sugary foods, refined carbs, packaged “food”
Examples: soda, fruit juice, sweets, baked goods, chips, granola bars, pasta, bread, cereal.
Why are these foods so detrimental to health?
- NO NUTRITION: Ignore the health claims made on the label. Packaged food does not contain the nutrition our bodies need to function properly.
- BLOOD SUGAR AND INSULIN SPIKE: When we consume these foods, our blood sugars and the hormone insulin shoot up and down rapidly (within 2-3 hours). When our blood sugars come crashing down, we feel hungry again. To maintain a healthy weight, we want to maintain our blood sugars so we can stay full between meals. In addition, it is hard to loose weight when insulin is chronically high.
- HIGHLY ADDICTIVE: Refined carbs and sugary foods are highly addictive. When digested they produce opioid-like substances, making us want more.
2. Focus your meals on whole foods high in protein, fiber and healthy fats
Meats & vegetables are the most nutrient dense foods that provide our body with what it needs to stay full during the day. Not only are these the most nutrient dense foods, they are also very low in carbs in sugar. Eating a diet lower in carbs and sugar will help keep your blood sugar stable. Make sure to include fatty meats in the diet too. Fat is an essential macronutrient and helps our bodies absorb essential vitamins and minerals. Here are a few meal ideas I would recommend:
3. Reduce frequency of eating
Eat 2-3 filling meals a day and avoid snacking as much as possible. The way to do this is to make sure your meals are filling. Eat foods rich in protein, fiber and healthy fats to stay satiated until the next meal. Try to leave at least 12 hours between the last meal of the day and your first meal of the day. For example, if your last meal of the day is at 7pm, you would wait until 7am to eat again.
If you really need a snack, focus on foods low in sugar and carbs. Dehydrated meat, hard-boiled eggs, raw vegetables, one tbsp. nut butter, nuts and seeds are a good option. For dessert, I recommend berries (blueberries, raspberries, strawberries), dark chocolate (70% minimum) and nuts (almonds, cashews, walnuts). Again if you are trying to loose weight, I would recommend limiting snacks and desserts.
4. Reduce stress, increase sleep and move in the way that makes you happy!
It is easy to gain weight if we are chronically stressed. This is because when we are stressed and under slept, our bodies produce hormones that trigger weight gain. Take a short walk every hour, turn off your phone at night, engage in activities that make you happy. 90% of weight loss is what you put into your body…focus on your diet over exercise for weight loss!
“The US Dietary Guidelines- Why They Matter and How They Might Change”
A summary of Nina Teicholz’s presentation at Low Carb Denver Introduction Nina Teicholz is a Journalist from California who is best known for her NY Times best selling book “The Big Fat Surprise.” In her presentation at Low Carb Denver, Nina questioned the quality of…
Low Carb Denver- Food in the (Mis) Anthropene
My summary of Georgia Ede’s presentation at Low Carb Denver I attended this year’s Low Carb Conference in Denver, Colorado to gain a better understanding of the potential health benefits of a low carb diet. This is the first of many posts about my experience.…
Top Nutrition Myths
There is a lot of bad nutrition advice out there. Here are a few of the most common nutrition myths I hear on daily basis.
Myth #1: Fruit juice provides us with the same health benefits as whole fruit
The reason why fruit juice is less healthy than whole fruit is because it contains MUCH more sugar. For example, an 8oz glass of orange juice contains almost 3X as much sugar as 1 orange. This is because fruit juice contains the concentrated sugars of multiple whole fruits. The sugars of 3 whole oranges are contained in 1 8oz glass of OJ. In addition, fruit juice does not contain fiber, the protective element in whole fruit that slows down the release of sugar into our blood stream. High blood sugar=high insulin. Chronically high insulin can lead to many chronic conditions such as obesity, diabetes and heart disease (just to name a few). Moral of the story, we should be choosing WHOLE fruit over fruit juice to keep our blood sugars within normal range!
Myth #2 Eating 4-6 small meals a day can help us loose weight by increasing our metabolism.
Eating food has very little impact on our metabolism. Therefore, eating more frequently will NOT increase our metabolism. We gain weight by constantly elevating insulin in the body. Insulin is a hormone that is released into our blood stream every time we eat. Sugar (candy, soda) and refined grains (bread, pasta, crackers, pretzels) raise insulin higher than whole foods like meats, fruits and vegetables. Therefore in order to loose weight, we need to lower that release of insulin. We can lower that insulin release by eating LESS frequently. That means 2-3 nutritious meals a day centered around WHOLE FOODS like meats, vegetables and fruits.
Myth #3: Eggs Yolks should be avoided because they are high in cholesterol. Eating foods high in cholesterol will increase our risk of heart disease.
Yes egg yolks are high in cholesterol but food cholesterol has very little impact on our blood cholesterol. Egg yolks are a very nutritious food, containing many vitamins and minerals that most of us lack. We should instead focus our attention on reducing chronic inflammation in the body to reduce our risk of heart disease. Chronic inflammation causes damage to our blood vessels, increasing our risk of heart disease. Many factors influence inflammation such as stress, smoking, poor nutrition and physical inactivity. Therefore, a more effective strategy in preventing heart disease is to reduce the factors that cause inflammation so that our blood vessels can stay healthy and strong!
Review of Dr. Fung’s Obesity Code
What is the obesity code? The Obesity Code is written by Dr. Jason Fung, a Canadian Nephrologist and expert in intermittent fasting and low-carb diets. The book unpacks why our preconceptions about what drives obesity are wrong, why this happened, what drives obesity and proposed solutions…