Dishing Up Nutrition

Do you have joint pain or stiffness? Have you been diagnosed with arthritis? Some people have mild joint pain, but for many, it can make every day activities seem very challenging. Things like cleaning the house or going grocery shopping become a burden when you are dealing with achy or stiff knees, wrists, shoulders, or back pain. Our show today is going to give natural solutions you can implement to help you with your joints, no matter what stage of joint pain or joint breakdown you are experiencing. We will discuss foods that cause inflammation and speed up the process of joint break down, as well as foods that support our joints. We’ll also mention a few key supplements for added joint support.

Today we want to help you make the connection between what you are eating and acid reflux. At least 1/3 of people taking heartburn medication still have a burning sensation in their throat and chest, so if this is you, you’re not alone. In this show, we’ll cover what is happening in the body when you have GERD (gastroesophageal reflux disease), the digestive disorder that causes heartburn along with other uncomfortable symptoms, and we’ll give you some options of what you can do with dietary changes and supplements to find relief.

Do you or someone you love experience regular migraines? We know how debilitating they can be! We’ve helped many clients become detectives to figure out what is triggering these migraines and, in today’s show, we’ll offer you some potential food triggers that might be causing yours.

The average adult brain weighs about 3 pounds and is made up of at least 60% fat. For many of us, diet has an impact on brain function and today we’ll share research about how healthy fats are used for epilepsy management. We’ll touch on what foods stress the brain, how the ketogenic diet got started, and what small changes to your nutrition can produce big results, whether you suffer from seizures or are simply wanting a healthier brain and body.

We know that heart disease is the #1 cause of death in our country so this is a very serious matter. More than ½ million Americans die each year from heart disease and it’s thought that almost 50% of our population is at risk for heart disease due to multiple risk factors. In today’s show we’ll go over what those risk factors are, what current research is saying about heart health, and what you can do with your nutritional habits to avoid a heart condition. Tune in to hear lots of great science information and practical, actionable tips!

In the US, 15 to 20 million people suffer with osteoporosis. 10% of women have osteoporosis and 1/3 of women have bone thinning that could lead to an osteoporosis diagnosis. Today, we have two very special guests who will be sharing their stories on how eating real food and taking some key supplements helped them to support their bone health by regaining bone density and overcoming osteoporosis.

Acne is the most common skin condition in the US, a health concern for up to 50 million Americans annually. Both teens and adults experience acne and it can be a challenge no matter how old you are! Today, we’ll share information on how food impacts acne, healthy fats focus on for healthy skin, how hormones play a role, the blood sugar and inflammation connection to acne, and what foods to eat to support clear, healthy skin.

“I am not losing weight fast enough!” “ I feel better and have more energy, but the scale doesn’t budge.” “Should I cut down how much I am eating?” These are some common concerns we hear in clinic with folks who are starting out their wellness journey and today we will dig into at least four common reasons for slow weight loss. We will look at the possible underlying issues, how that challenged your metabolism, and what may be a solution to get your metabolism working again from a real food healing plan.

About 60% of women will experience a urinary tract infection (a UTI) at some point in their life. And while men can get UTIs as well, women are 10 times as likely to get them and about 40% of women will get another UTI within 6 months of the first infection. Prevention is the key to being UTI free! In this show, we’ll share some symptoms of a UTI, what causes a UTI, what foods you will want to avoid or incorporate, and some key preventative supplements that might help as part of your prevention plan.

We've heard the message that "breakfast is the most important meal of the day", but for many it's a challenge to squeeze in a healthy meal during the morning rush. 1/3 of Americans who do eat breakfast choose cold cereal, which is made up of 75% sugar or highly processed grains. Our nutritionists explain why a real-food balanced breakfast is important for all ages and will provide tips on how to start a new breakfast habit.

30% of US adults between ages 50 to 59 have diverticulosis while 70% of those older than 80 struggle with it. In today’s show, we’ll explain the difference between diverticulitis and diverticulosis by describing what is happening in the colon. We’ll talk about what symptoms you might have with these two conditions and offer nutritional solutions to help you manage or prevent these health issues.

When we think about our metabolism, it is a simple word but can be a complex process. Resetting your metabolism takes time and it can involve making many changes in your life… from how much you sleep you get to the amount of stress you are experiencing. Boosting a broken metabolism needs a nutritional approach and we are here to give you insights and ideas on how to get started as well as share some success we know is possible for you too.

Aging encompasses every organ in your body and brain with sugar having an influence on that aging process. Since skin is the largest organ of the body, we’re talking skin health today! How does the food you eat effect the appearance of your skin? We’ll cover how sugar especially causes both damage and inflammation as well as what other foods might be causing harm to your tissues and what you can do to keep your skin glowing.

Research from JAMA shows that 50% of the population has prediabetes or diabetes. Prediabetes and Type 2 can be prevented and even reversed when the right nutritional strategies are implemented. Our nutritionists will dive into the science of how excess carbs and sugar elevate glucose levels, and over time, can lead to these chronic conditions. Our signature eating plan with real vegetable carbs, healthy fats to anchor blood sugar, and moderate protein, can help the body heal.

If you’re someone with a sweet tooth, you may or may not be surprised that researchers have found sugar or the sweet taste to be the preferred food for both humans and animals. Today, our nutritionists will help you understand the metabolic connection of sugar, insulin, and weight gain. They’ll discuss how our brain fits into the sweet tooth and cravings equation and what happens in our body when we eat a lot of sugar and processed carbs. Tune in to hear how you can reset your brain’s pleasure center to help your metabolism!

If you’re a longtime listener, you know we talk a lot about eating real food in balance. Getting in those three components of healthy protein, fat, and carb can be healing for a multitude of things. We know what to do, but how do we do it? Research has found that 40% of our actions are based on the habits we have and not necessarily from the our choices in the moment. Today we will discuss key points from the book The Power of Habits by Charles Duhigg and help you start thinking about how you can upgrade the habits that make up your life right now for the better.

If you’ve been with us for one episode or hundreds of episodes, you know our message is a simple one: Eat Real Food for Better Health. It is a simple message that gets amazing results. Can it really be that easy? Is it too good to be true? Today, registered dietitian Teresa Wagner interviews two of her clients who share their real life success stories. Both of these ladies have been focusing on this simple message of eating real food for more than a year and are achieving the amazing results we often talk about on this show.

Nutrition is impactful no matter what stage of life you are in and that includes the life stages of your family! We have worked with clients who come to us to find out what they should eat for better fertility as they try to conceive, what to eat during pregnancy, what to eat while breast feeding, and how to feed growing kiddos. In today’s show, we start at the beginning with the fertility phase. Changing your food to increase your fertility is a process and it often takes several months, so tune in for a few tips on where to get started.

Menopause usually occurs when women are between the ages of 45 – 55 and it is estimated that 1.3 billion women worldwide will be in menopause by the year 2025. One of the most common complaints we hear in clinic is the sudden weight gain, as if a switch was flipped overnight. The tried and true ways of losing weight in the past don’t work the same way and, for these women, it feels like a different kind of struggle with weight in their 40s, 50s, 60s. In this show, we’ll talk more about what the main causes are for this weight gain and what lifestyle changes can be done to reverse a slow metabolism.

When you are making food choices, do you ever consider: what foods support or help me keep healthy gums and what foods breakdown my gums? Your mouth and the health of your gums can affect your whole body, including influencing some very serious health issues. Today we will discuss what foods are good for oral health and how poor gum health can affect metabolism and other inflammatory conditions. The bottom line is that food matters when it comes to gum and teeth health, so tune in to learn more about what you can do to keep your mouth and teeth happy and healthy!

Today we will share the reasons why almost two billion people worldwide have a condition known as fatty liver disease. We’ll talk about the two main types of fatty liver disease, discuss how what you eat and drink affects your liver, cover the health problems related to fatty liver disease, and, most importantly, share how you can reverse a fatty liver with a real food plan.

Cardiovascular disease is the number one cause of death in the US with hypertension or high blood pressure implicated as the primary cause. Controlling hypertension is and has been a major focus of public health initiatives. Often the advice for blood pressure issues is to reduce your salt intake. How does salt cause high levels of blood pressure? What does sugar have to do with hypertension? What are you eating that may be containing too much sodium or sugar and negatively effecting your blood pressure? As nutritionists and dietitians, we’ll be talking about this food connection to your blood pressure and what you can do about it.

After considerable sleep research, sleep has been shown to be one of the most important and perhaps one of the least understood aspects of our life, wellness, and longevity. Our show topic this week is how lack of sleep slows your metabolism. The ideal amount of sleep for weight loss is between 7 ½ to 9 hours most nights, so if you aren’t getting adequate sleep, tune in! We are offering steps for getting better quality sleep by covering what foods and drinks cause us to wake up, sleep supplements many find helpful, research findings, and actions steps you can try right away.

It is estimated that 15 to 20 million Americans struggle with osteoporosis and 80% of those are women. 1 in 2 women by the age of 50 will break a bone because of osteoporosis. With that staggering statistic, what can we do right now to maintain strong and healthy bones? What food should we eat, whether we are 70 years old or 50 or 30 or 20 or even a teen, to start changing those numbers for the better? We need strong but flexible bones - not hard and brittle bones. In today’s show, we’ll discuss what substances rob our bones of nutrients and what foods to incorporate to create those strong, flexible bones.

When many of us hear the word “menopause”, we might automatically think hot flashes, and yes, about 80% of menopausal women experience hot flashes. In addition to hot flashes, menopausal women can also experience insomnia, anxiety, mood swings, and depression, which are less likely to be talked about. During perimenopause when there is a fluctuation of hormones, mood swings can often occur and, usually, we can find a nutritional answer to alleviate symptoms. Today we will be discussing the hormone connection to depression and anxiety plus offer some nutritional solutions to consider.

In a recent Dishing Up Nutrition episode, we talked about how and why sugar has a hold on us. Today, we want to cover all the places sugar may show up in the foods around us. Some might be obvious sources of sugar and some might surprise you! Once you know what to look for, you’ll know what to avoid and what to eat instead to reach those health goals and reduce the hold sugar has on you.

It may surprise you that your body is well-equipped to rid your body of toxins and you don’t have to buy expensive detox formulas. When people want to make a quick change or shed those extra pounds, they look to a fast detox scheme. Sounds good, but in reality, it doesn’t work that way. To detox, our bodies need a high-quality, real food plan that will support our liver. In this show, we’ll talk about everyday foods available right in your kitchen that you can use to support the 3-step process of detoxing and what quick, simple, and delicious recipes you can start incorporating into your meals.

Does sugar have you hooked? Do you feel you are addicted to sugar, and you just have to have some to feel normal? Do you have a sweet tooth that always has you thinking about where to get your next treat? Maybe you have said to yourself, I could just ____ (insert your health goal), if I could just stop eating sugar. Why is something that tastes so good also be so bad for us? Today we want to explore some of the reasons sugar has a hold over many of us with two special hosts who share their personal connection to the sugar habit.

The last couple years have given us plenty to drink about, but how does alcohol play into our health? What are some of the common health risks of drinking? How does alcohol impact women specifically? Today, we’ll talk about why drinking can be detrimental to your health goals and give you some points to ponder when considering giving up (or limiting) this habit.

What is PCOS and why are so many women struggling with it today? PCOS stands for polycystic ovarian syndrome and is one of the most common hormonal disorders found in women from puberty to post-menopause. It is the leading cause of infertility and it can have many different symptoms. Today we are discussing what those symptoms are and the common causes of polycystic ovarian syndrome. The first steps in helping women overcome PCOS and infertility is to help them see the impact that their eating habits have on their hormones, so we’ll also cover nutritional solutions to help realign hormone balance and find relief from symptoms.

In the past 30 years, reams of research have been published about the damaging effects of gluten. Many people have cut out gluten because of their joint pain, heartburn, blood sugar issues, cravings for gluten-containing products, skin conditions, chronic diarrhea and other digestive problems, like intestinal permeability (also known as leaky gut). While only 1% of people have been diagnosed with the genetic disorder of celiac disease, there are more folks with a gluten sensitivity, which can be challenging to diagnose. In this show, join three of our nutritionists as they discuss the research on gluten and insight into why eliminating gluten from your diet might be a good experiment for your family.

There are many common symptoms to perimenopause and menopause, one of them being weight gain. The first step in achieving a healthy weight during menopause is to get rid of that diet mentality and replace it with eating to nourish your metabolism, energy, and well-being. Many women come into menopause already nutrient deficient, with low energy, hormone imbalances, and extra weight, so tune in to find out what numbers to pay attention to (hint: not the ones on the scale!) and what steps to take to nourish the body as you experience this stage of life.

Do you find it hard to quit eating sugar? Most of us know that sugar is not good for us, but sometimes it feels like our cravings get the best of us! In this show, we’ll discuss the biological drivers of food cravings and what triggers the brain’s alarm system that leads to hunger and cravings. From a nutritionist and dietitian standpoint, we’ll cover compelling reasons to not eat sugar, share the lifestyle and eating habits that support sugar sobriety, and help you prepare your brain and body to not crave sugar.

Today we are sharing our insights about the importance of eating real, whole foods to help with recovery from long hauler symptoms after having Covid-19. As a relatively new health issue, about twelve million people nationwide are suffering from ongoing symptoms after recovering from the virus. We’ve dug into the current research that’s out there to find what those symptoms are and what you or your loved one can do nutritionally to support the healing process.

A study published in the January issue of The Journal of Diabetes and Metabolic Syndrome: Clinical Research and Review reported almost 50% of adults gained weight during the first year of the pandemic. If you have found that your body has gone through some changes over the last two years from the stress of Covid, you are not alone! Today, we share information on what slows down a metabolism and six steps to take to boost it. We have found clients need a metabolic healing plan to reset their metabolism. We teach a simple formula to restore muscle mass, control cravings, and support basal metabolic rate.

Do you find yourself having trouble recalling words? Have you walked into a room and forgotten why you’re there? Do you juggle a lot of tasks at work that you need to remember or have students in your household who are studying for tests? Unfortunately, researchers have not found the magic pill to restore memory, so we have to rely on food and lifestyle habits to support our precious brain. Today we talk about foods that will help you and your family with memory and foods to avoid to maintain long term memory. We’ll share what nutrients are essential for brain health and supportive habits to focus on for better memory.

Are you noticing your hair thinning or dull? Are clumps of hair coming out in your brush? Are you looking for ways to keep your hair looking lush and full? There are a variety of reasons why we might experience hair loss and our licensed nutritionists will cover what those reasons might be for you or someone you love. Tune in to learn what nutrient deficiencies can effect the quality of your hair and what nutrients to consume to give you vibrant health from the inside out. Walk away with meal and supplement ideas for a beautiful head of hair!

Are you having trouble dragging yourself out of bed because you are tired from not sleeping well? Can’t wait to get that first cup of coffee or looking for that pick-me-up mid afternoon? If you are a woman in perimenopause, menopause, or even post-menopause and are feeling down and out, let’s look to your diet. Our topic today is all about foods that rob your energy during menopause and foods that heal your adrenal function so you have good energy through the menopause years.

Most of us have been taught that to lose weight, we need to cut back on calories. As it turns outs, this old outdated theory of “calories in/calories out” really doesn’t work for most people. In this show, we’ll share some real life stories of folks who’ve successfully lost weight, not by counting calories, but by eating real food rather than processed foods and by decreasing insulin resistance.

Today we are excited to share some key information about how eating avocados can help control blood sugar and reduce cravings for sugar and processed carbs. Being mindful of monitoring and managing blood sugar levels, especially for those who are diabetic or have been cautioned by their doctor of being prediabetic, is really important and can be great data for making changes to your health plan. It is always fun to do a show about how eating REAL FOOD, especially a real fat like avocados, can support long-term health by having a positive effect on blood sugar control. We’ll also give examples of ways to incorporate avocados into your meals and snacks!

Today we are going to address a concern many parents have and that is sitting down to the dinner table with a picky eater. If you have a picky eater at your table, you are not alone because about 20% of children today are picky eaters. Therapists who specialize in picky eating behavior often suggest having a calm eating environment, desensitize food textures and taste. But the question we ask as dietitians is why did a picky eater become one in the first place? We look deeper at some possible causes and today we have several possible reasons a child or an adult may become a picky eater.

Do you find it hard to quit eating sugar? Most of us know that sugar is not good for us, but sometimes it feels like our cravings get the best of us! In this show, we’ll discuss the biological drivers of food cravings and what triggers the brain’s alarm system that leads to hunger and cravings. From a nutritionist and dietitian standpoint, we’ll cover compelling reasons to not eat sugar, share the lifestyle and eating habits that support sugar sobriety, and help you prepare your brain and body to not crave sugar.

Food companies have a product to sell and will use clever marketing to get their products sold. But will these foods support your long-term health? Tune in today to learn about which foods might be causing harm to you and your health goals based off of research findings and clinical experience. Our dietitians will share what to look out for and ways to incorporate better options.

There are many common symptoms to perimenopause and menopause, one of them being weight gain. The first step in achieving a healthy weight during menopause is to get rid of that diet mentality and replace it with eating to nourish your metabolism, energy, and well-being. Many women come into menopause already nutrient deficient, with low energy, hormone imbalances, and extra weight, so tune in to find out what numbers to pay attention to (hint: not the ones on the scale!) and what steps to take to nourish the body as you experience this stage of life.

If you’ve listened to Dishing Up Nutrition before, you know our message is a simple one: eat real food for better health. It’s a simple message that gets amazing results. Today we have two very special guests who experienced these amazing results by following the Weight & Wellness way. Tune in to hear how they have not only experienced long-term weight loss, but better health, energy, vitality, and mindset toward food and health. TJ & Anita share why they continue to return to the real food message and the Nutritional Weight & Wellness resources and community.

One half of the adult population struggles with cardiovascular disease and today we’ll touch on how cholesterol plays a role in heart health. We’ll discuss the damaging effects of inflammation as well as cover foods that cause that harmful inflammation and the foods that reduce inflammation. We help clients maintain a normal cholesterol range by choosing the beneficial foods and by eliminating the harmful ones, so if you’re struggling in this area, tune in!

The time of year is upon us where folks like to make resolutions, goals, or intentions for the coming year. It feels like a fresh slate and a new beginning. Deciding to make lifestyle changes especially in your food choices is never easy and sticking to new health habits for the long haul can be challenging. In this show we’ll share education and some ideas for support, personal data to pay attention to, and ways to set actionable health goals that will create real change in your life. Join dietitians Teresa and Kristi, with culinary nutrition educator Marianne, to hear lots of inspiration for 2022.

Acne can be an issue that spans many age groups, but is a challenging struggle no matter when in your life you experience it. Since there are foods that can increase acne break outs and foods that can calm the skin, we will dive into the nutritional connection to different types of acne, how hormones and inflammatory foods can affect skin health, and dietary solutions you can use starting today to help yourself, your teen, or anyone else who wants to add more glow to their complexion.

We all know for the next 4 weeks there will be an abundance of treats at family gatherings, at work, at neighborhood get-togethers and at shopping centers. There are so many more temptations and it is more challenging to avoid those treats and weight gain than during other times of the year. Today we will share how to get through the holiday season without gaining weight with habits for controlling cravings and providing an understanding of the biochemistry of weight loss and energy. Tune in to meet one of our new dietitians, Jolene Carlson, as she shares her own personal success story of maintaining weight loss, even through the holidays!

If you have been experiencing more anxiety over the past 20 months than you ever have in the past, you are not alone, because according to a new study by the CDC (The Center for Disease Control and Prevention) about 42% of U.S. adults reported having symptoms of anxiety and depression during this COVID-19 pandemic. That is almost half of the adult population! So what can you do personally to relieve some of your anxiety and depression? Today, as dietitians and nutritionists, we want to focus specifically on the anxiety piece to share at least three biochemical reasons your food choices have a major impact on your mental health.