The Smart Nutrition Made Simple Show with Ben Brown

From college basketball standout to cancer survivor  Professional athlete to depression and attempted suicide  Successful sales career to vagabond    To finally...father, husband, entrepreneur, and purpose-driven leader...    Today we catch up with Justin Allen, a former college and professional basketball player who through several challenges and obstacles, including 2x cancer and severe depressi...

It’s a harsh reality that as a man, our testosterone levels likely never were and will never be what our grandparents and great grandparents experienced just 100 years ago. ​ Our world is changing, the stressors placed in, on and around our bodies are exponentially higher than they have ever been; from our air quality, water, and the chemicals in our food and in our skincare products. This hormona...

Is cardio good or bad?   Well, as with all things in life, the devil’s in the dose. This especially holds true when we talk about the pro’s and con’s of cardiovascular training, or if we were to be more specific; the type, frequency, duration, and intensity of the exercise will determine the individual's response.   So what should we know about how to manipulate these variables relative to our lon...

If you’ve been concerned about how to prepare yourself and your family for if and likely when Covid-19 hits your household, then you’re in the right place.   Today I bring back Dr. Elisa Song, pediatric holistic physician and mother to 2 kiddos that were recently diagnosed with Covid-19 - one of whom was hospitalized due to his symptoms. In this episode, we discuss her experience with the virus as...

If you’ve ever learned to play an instrument, then you’re well aware of how much time, practice, consistency, and effort are required to even become proficient, let alone develop any semblance of mastery. The practice of developing these instrumental skills can certainly be compared to the process of improving your eating skills, to the degree that in order to truly master your eating behaviors, y...

When you’ve worked directly with people for long enough, you become a master at adjusting on the fly, especially as a coach or personal trainer. A client showing up late, a sick kid at home, an injury or woe that throws a wrench in your daily game plan. But when you’re told to close the doors on your business for an indefinite period of time, virtually overnight, as much of America has due to Covi...

CBD seems to be everywhere.   Pharmacies, gas stations, pet store gummies, over the counter supplements, and massage spa “infusions” through lotions, oils, and sprays.   Even professional and former pro athletes like Megan Rapinoe. Lamar Odom. Rob Gronkowski are endorsing the use of cannabidiol, commonly known as  CBD .   CBD is one of over 100 different cannabinoids that occur naturally in the ca...

Did you know that what we put on our bodies is the same as what we put in our bodies? In other words, our skin, the largest organ system of the body, has the ability to absorb up to 60% of what we put on it. Everything from chlorine and fluoride in our water, to fragrant soap and shampoos, hydrating lotions, and supposedly protective sunscreens, ALL, by virtue of being on our skin, end up in our b...

Much has been said about the importance of sleep, from adequate timing, duration, and quality with respect to our hunger, energy, cravings, blood sugar regulation. ability to effectively burn body fat, maintain lean muscle mass, and even think clearly and prevent the onset of disease. And as you’re well aware, observing and aligning with our natural sleep-wake cycles is a non-negotiable factor if...

As we find ourselves in the midst of governmental recommended (and possibly soon to be enforced) social isolation and quarantine due to the rapid spread of the corona virus - COVID-19, we’re being faced with some new, different, and complex challenges that may prove to be a blessing in disguise. That’s what we’re discussing on this episode of the smart nutrition made simple show I used to make a j...

You’ve heard me say it before and you’ll continue to hear me say: We’re all biochemically individual or as the old adage goes, one man’s food is another man’s poison.   When we turn to social media, IG influencers, mainstream news, and “biohackers” to provide us with cookie-cutter health solutions, we’re taking a “ready, fire, aim” approach to healing. Rather, we need to objectively and subjective...

Are you living a life of purpose?   Are you happy with the trajectory of your life, or are you living someone else’s vision for what you’re supposed to be doing?   In this episode, I bring back Dai Manuel, super-dad, husband, coach, author, and fitness educator to share more about his journey towards creating the life of his dreams and what steps we can realistically take to do the same. Dai share...

In a world that is plagued by chronic disease, we’ve realized that we can’t medicate or cut our way out of a lifestyle and environmentally induced epidemic. Note that I said lifestyle induced. It is my opinion that much of what plagues us we have created within ourselves, be it physical, mental, and/or emotional, and certainly not intentionally, but as a product of the poisonous environment we liv...

Of increasing popularity is the adoption of a vegetarian or “plant-based” diet due to health concerns as well as those wishing to take a higher level of responsibility for the environment as well as the treatment of animals.   In this episode, I want to discuss several things with you that are worth considering when making this kind of lifestyle change as well as some (hopefully) helpful education...

If you asked me, I’d say that the exponential growth of CrossFit over the past 10 years has been overwhelmingly positive. It’s built communities that value health, it’s motivated women and men to lift weights and validated the benefits of lifting heavy weights, it’s created a fun level of competition within the group training sphere and without question, has tested the boundaries of what people ar...

We’ve all heard that alcohol intake can negatively impact our fat loss and muscle building goals, but is that really true? Today we’ll dissect some of the commonly held beliefs and misconceptions about alcohol intake, including:   - Do alcohol calories count and is alcohol more fattening than other calories? - What happens in our bodies when we drink alcohol? - Are there any health benefits to alc...

By now you’ve probably heard all about the benefits of intermittent fasting. From weight loss to longevity to autophagy to improved performance. But which of these claims are supported by the scientific evidence and which ones have been incorrectly propagated despite well-intentioned bloggers, biohackers, health practitioners, your next-door neighbor who swears by the skipping breakfast, or your c...

Today on the show I am sharing an interview my friend Nate Palmer did with me about a lot of the behind the scenes of my day-to-day. We talk about how I am forced to prioritize my time around my non-negotiables, how I prioritize my sleep, what my morning workouts look like, how I set my goals and make sure that I take care of the most important tasks so that I can spend time with my family. I hope...

Struggling to find a solution to your health issues?    With the rising popularity in naturopathic medicine, it can be easy to think that where conventional medicine may have failed you, alternative medicine could provide the panacea.     But as one naturopathic doctor has seen first-hand, the path to true health lies not in the type of treatment, rather in one’s ability to identify what’s really...

Do you remember a time in your life when you were so excited or nervous or scared that you could literally feel it in your body? Maybe you had “butterflies in your stomach” before a first date or your heart was racing, or you felt nauseous and lightheaded.     What about when you had a deadline or a big presentation at work, or a loved one was injured…    There’s no doubt that there’s a strong con...

What if I told you you could lose weight while still drinking beer and eating chicken tenders and without having to eat your vegetables? You’d probably tell me I was full of it…  and rightfully so. Except that today, I’m interviewing my amazing client, Emily, a busy attorney who has lost over 70 lbs in the past 8 months all while still enjoying her craft beer and occasional chicken tenders and all...

Is tracking your “macros” even necessary?    If you’re anything like me, then you absolutely abhor tracking your calories. I mean I can’t stand it. It’s time-consuming, highly inaccurate, and to be honest with you, can quickly push me to the edge of developing an unhealthily relationship with my food. I know now, that it’s not for me…    BUT, I’m glad I’ve spent time over the years doing it, becau...

Today we’re joined by my friend Justin Janoska to take a deep dive into many of the problems with the fitness industry and the obsession around calorie counting, tracking macros, flexible dieting, and the surface level behaviors that can often be rooted in deep-seeded pain, shame, regret, and lack of self love and acceptance. This certainly isn’t to say that these tools can’t be used as positive m...

(musical lyrics) - Flintstones, meet the Flintstones They’re the modern stone-age family From the town of Bedrock They're a page right out of history…   Meet modern-day Fred Flintstone, Dr. Bill Schindler, a trained archaeologist and primitive technologist who travels the world documenting traditional foodways and works to draw inspiration from the deep archaeological record, rich ethnographic rec...

To you or me, it could be classified as indigestion, bloating, or gas… but to my 4 yr old son, it’s simply a tummy ache. Often overlooked and seen as yet another inconsequential symptom of eating or drinking too much of the wrong things, at the wrong times, or maybe another stomach bug trying to invade.   As my mother used to say, I had “a sensitive stomach”…, but it was actually a sign.   A sign...