Practical Nutrition

Today we are going to discuss a nutrition and fitness lifestyle that is trending among Millennials and Gen-Z-ers; it is called Cycle Syncing. “Cycle” as in menstrual cycles.  As most of us know, menstruation is a monthly cycle in the female body that is driven by hormonal fluctuations. But did you know that menstruation is more than just the days of bleeding? The bleeding part is just one of...

What can you do to better prepare for school sports? Our topic today is something we get lots of questions about and we will give you some practical tips for success! This topic could also be helpful for preparing for any workout during your day. These tips have been shown to help improve sports performance! Follow us on social media: Facebook - Achieving Your Best Instagram - aybspringfield Twitt...

When you think of testosterone, what comes to mind? Macho men? Aggressive, impatient, type A behavior? Road rage? Violence? Athleticism? Testosterone's role in “macho” behavior is largely a myth. What's more, testosterone plays other important roles in health and disease that may surprise you. For example, did you know that testosterone is a key player in prostate cancer? Or, that women need testo...

If you’ve ever sat on the other side of the table with one of us in a nutrition session, you may have caught on to us avoiding using absolute terminology. “You have to do this….” “If you do this, you’ll lose/gain this….” “Don’t eat this food” “Only eat these foods…” That’s because, the reality of it is, you don’t have to do this or never do this. We are all about taking what’s called a client-cent...

Dementia is the 6th leading cause of death in the US! Mediterranean and DASH diets have been shown to be associated with slower brain decline as we age. These two eating patterns were put together to make a super charged eating pattern called the MIND diet. That stands for Mediterranean-Dash Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay. The overall premise of the MIND diet includes 10 food groups that...

Blood sugar- it sounds like something only diabetics should be paying attention to, right? Being mindful of blood sugar control, even for healthy people, athletes, and the general population, can help you feel your best. Blood sugar plays a major role in our mood, sleep, physical performance, weight, and much more. Not that we think you need to wear one of those continuous glucose monitors (as we...

If you are a frequent flier here at Practical Nutrition podcast, you already know how much we love food over supplements - if you’re new here…now you know. However, there’s no denying that supplementation is still a huge part of the American population’s routine - it’s estimated 3 out of 4 people are taking supplements. 76% of Americans report using a vitamin and mineral supplement, 40% report tak...

We are finally here- summer vacation season! According to national statistics, 9 out of 10 summer trips are typically in personal vehicles and within 250 miles of home. This summer with gas prices and airfare prices, this trend will likely continue. Just to put things into perspective: Weekends are about 30% of your time each week…and summer is about 27% of the year. When you think about it, this...

Today we will discuss a requested topic - food additives. For centuries, ingredients have served useful functions in a variety of foods. Our ancestors used salt to preserve meats and fish, added herbs and spices to improve the flavor of foods, preserved fruit with sugar, and pickled cucumbers in a vinegar solution. Today, consumers demand and enjoy a food supply that is flavorful, nutritious, safe...

You’ve heard the saying, “Mindset is everything.” And we think that’s true! Especially when talking about your health. The mindset that you have towards nutrition, your body, and activity will affect the choices that you make on a daily basis. Tune it to find out! Scroll for the links to the books we mentioned in this podast. The Book of Joy - https://www.amazon.com/Book-Dalai-Tutu-Desmond-Lama/dp...

“Bloating” seems to be a term used often to describe a certain feeling after eating, or really any time of day.  According to Johns Hopkins, as many as 1 in 3 of otherwise healthy people complain of occasional abdominal bloating. A large number of Americans say they suffer from this regularly, even when they haven't eaten a large meal. In some cases, bloating can become severe enough that it...

“Get Fit with a continuous glucose monitor. Ditch the scale. Get a CGM.” Is this the next big thing?  We all love gadgets and everyone wants to find that missing piece that will help them get to their goals.  Continuous Glucose Monitoring (CGM for short) is what we are going to be talking about today and this is such an interesting topic! CGM is not a brand new technology-it has been ava...

For any parents with kids, teachers, health care workers, or anyone that used to be a kid… this topic could help you! Getting kids to be interested in a healthy lifestyle is easier said than done. Parents can definitely attest to this! It is important to know that no parent is perfect when it comes to feeding their kid, and no kid is perfect when it comes to eating. Sometimes, all you can do as a...

In one of our previous podcasts, we talked about rationalizing unhealthy behaviors. Remember…we all do this! It’s human nature to make our own self feel better about the choices we make. We told you that if your habits tend to fall on the unhealthy side more often than the healthy side, then it’s time to start thinking about ways to change those unhealthy behaviors. Today, we are going to tell you...

Today’s topic is something that we can all relate to. Have you ever gotten to the grocery store check-out line, only to have your jaw drop at the total of your grocery bill?? With food costs rising, it seems to be more and more difficult to stay within budget at the store. This is especially true if you have a lot of mouths to feed. Sometimes it can seem impossible to keep grocery bills down while...

Staying well hydrated is important for many reasons, such as helping you feel better, increasing your energy, and helping your body function properly. Water has many roles in the body such as: assisting digestion and normal bowel function, helps deliver oxygen, regulates body temperature, cushions your joints, brain, spinal cord and fetus if you are pregnant, balances body chemicals by assisting w...

Whether you’ve realized it or not, you have probably heard about some type of adaptogenic supplement… mushrooms, herbs, roots, grasses, seeds, powders, pills- the list goes on and on. As registered dietitians, we always encourage achieving your health and nutrition goals from food first and not from supplements. We have the research to prove that there is no supplement regimen that can match a hea...

We are officially in our 2nd month of the new year. According to Forbes, nearly 80% of you have given up on your New Year’s resolution by now. Research conducted on the app ‘Strava’, using over 800 million user-logged activities, predicted that the day most people are likely to give up on their New Year’s resolution is January 19th. Strava has actually named January 19th “Quitters Day”. With all o...

As dietitians and exercise professionals, we receive many questions about various diets, meal plans, fads, workouts, research, books, blogs, recipes and the list goes on and on. Some things we are consistently asked about is “what do you think of x product?” or “which brand of x do you recommend?” These questions are 100% valid! The food industry can be very tricky, and sometimes it can be challen...

Happy 2022! Today, we are going to talk about 10 trends we are seeing for nutrition for the new year. Trends are different from fads because trends are more a direction that we are headed and continue going for longer vs a fad that is usually short lived. We are not going to dive into a lot of research on each of these because we could do a whole podcast on each one, and we will cover some of thes...

On the 15th day of Christmas my dietitian gave to me… 10 tips for holiday health accountability. The holidays are a joyful time of year filled with family, friends, parties, cheesy Christmas movies, and of course- delicious foods, sweets, and beverages. It’s a time when we put aside our woes… and sometimes our nutrition and fitness routines. A 2015 study by Harvard University found that Americans...

Currently, 82% of the US population has a social media profile, about 223 million people. Whereas in 2008, only 10% of people used social media. If you’ve been on social media lately, you might have noticed a few…or many, posts about food. It’s been estimated that the term “#food” is used on Instagram in 250 million posts each month. It may be a fancy photo of a nice restaurant meal, your “foodie”...

Today is a special day…this is a topic that is near and dear to our hearts. It is something that is part of our everyday life…and it is….COFFEE! Coffee is one of the most popular beverages in the US and the world! In the US alone, 64% of adults consume coffee every day, averaging roughly 3 cups. This rounds out to about 400 million cups of coffee consumed per day and 146 billion cups per year acro...

We have all been there... Made a decision that made us feel frustrated and then rationalized why we made the decision in order to help ourselves feel better. Today’s topic is not about us shaming anyone or making you feel bad. We want to help you understand this behavior and notice if you are in the habit of letting yourself rationalize unhealthy habits. If you think you don’t do this, think again...

Did you know that skin is the largest organ in your body? It is a living, evolving tissue that requires as much care as our other tissues. We put our skin through a lot- exposure to UV rays, chemicals, environmental toxins, polluted air, and more. If you or someone you know has been struggling with acne, premature aging, rashes, or other skin issues - consider that diet is a major factor in the he...