Fresh Focus

Fresh Focus Episode #100It’s hard to believe it, but we’ve made it to our 100th episode! This milestone wouldn’t have been possible without our incredible Veterans and their family members who listen to our episodes and support Fresh Focus. As we look back, we are filled with gratitude and amazement at our episodes that have been full of insightful conversations and inspiring stories. To celebrate our 100th episode, we have invited a special guest to join us that you won’t want to miss. Listen to the Marion VA Health Care System Executive Director, Mr. Zach Sage, as he shares his love of working with Veterans and his history with the VA. He discusses how Marion, IL VA is committed to providing Veterans with safe, high-quality care they have earned and deserve. He shares his story of working his way up to becoming an Executive Director and how he has made personal lifestyle changes to focus on his own health and well-being, so he feels healthier, is able to be there for his family and do the job he needs to do to support our Veterans. He is looking forward to embracing technology and improving standard of care for staff to be able to serve Veterans to the best of his ability. Thank you to everyone who has been part of and supported the Fresh Focus Podcast. Your support means the world to us. Our journey doesn’t stop here though, stay tuned for future episodes.  

For today’s rewind episode, lets take it all the way back to episode one. This episode was titled “Keeping it Simple,” and it was our kickoff episode into the healthy plate method. Anyone that has worked with knows that I am a big proponent of simplifying nutrition, removing the unnecessary complications and confusing misinformation, and getting back to basics. We know that if we build a good foundation based upon getting a consistent, balanced intake of real food, then everything else becomes so much easier. So let’s take this trip back in time and listen to Beth as she helps us to keep it simple. 

The Fresh Focus Podcast offers Veterans, their families, and caregivers' credible nutritional advice from VA dietitians. On this episode listen in as Victoria discusses food security and insecurity.   Food insecurity in the Veteran population is an important issue that affects millions of Veterans, impacting many factors of their health and well-being. If you are facing food insecurity, grocery shopping may be extremely challenging.  Tune in to find out ways to eat healthfully with many great shelf stable options and find out tips that can help with shopping on a limited budget.  Your local Registered Dietitians are eager to answer any questions, assist with shopping lists, and help you reach your nutrition goals. Give us a call, connect us with your Veterans, and check out more episodes on the Fresh Focus Podcast! 

Being in the home versus the clinic setting allows us to have a hands-on approach to see how the patient lives from day to day, what they have access to regarding food for meals, and what they have available to prepare meals.   Find out ways the Home-Based Primary Care Inter-disciplinary Team can assess if the Veteran has adequate equipment to prepare the food in the home or adequate fluids in the home for hydration.   The team members can assess the Veteran’s strengths, limitations, internal/external supports and service needs to optimize the Veteran’s functional status so they can remain in their home, as independently as possible, for as long as possible.

Home Based Primary Care (HBPC) at the VA is unique because each member of the team works closely together to provide Veterans with the very best care. Listen in to this episode to find out more of what Dietitians and Occupational Therapists do overall, and as part of the Home-Based Primary Care program.  HBPC dietitians visit Veterans in their homes so they can assess nutritional status and identify any nutrition needs to improve their overall health. Occupational therapy is a client centered healthcare profession that focuses on promoting health and well-being through engagement in everyday activities, which could mean things like taking care of yourself, managing household tasks, going to work or school, or being able to participate in your favorite hobbies.  

Are you a Veteran or do you know a Veteran that has a hard time getting out of their home for their medical appointments? Listen in to learn about a VA program called Home Based Primary Care (HBPC).  This program is for Veterans that have complex and chronic disease(s) for which routine clinic-based care may not be effective. HBPC is commonly referred to as a primary care clinic on wheels because we come to your home for your primary care needs versus you coming into the clinic. HBPC uses an interdisciplinary approach to meet the Veteran’s needs.  The team’s focus is the Veteran and how they can help, encourage, and educate the Veteran to meet their own health goals and needs. 

Tune into this episode of the Fresh Focus podcast featuring Renal Nutrition, hosted by advanced practice renal dietitians Morgan O’Hara and Annelle Tschida. This episode filters through the latest in kidney health and the risks of chronic kidney disease (CKD). Did you know that 1 in 7 adults in the U.S. have chronic kidney disease, yet a staggering 9 out of 10 don’t even know it? Early-stage kidney disease often has no symptoms, which means it can sneak up on you without warning. Find out the importance of early detection, understanding lab results, and addressing key risk factors like high blood pressure and diabetes. The hosts explain the kidneys' crucial roles in filtering blood, balancing fluids and minerals, and regulating blood pressure. Get ready to discover practical, easy -to-follow dietary strategies for managing CKD- like cutting back on sodium, mastering the art of reading nutrition labels, and adding more whole plant-based foods to your meals for better kidney health. This episode encourages listeners, particularly Veterans, to proactively engage with healthcare providers and dietitians to preserve kidney health and delay disease progression. 

Fresh Focus Episode #93:  Application of Intuitive Eating Have you ever noticed any food restrictions that you follow but you are not sure where they came from or how they have impacted your relationship with food? Tune in to this episode where VA dietitian, Erin, provides 5 ways to start applying the principles of Intuitive Eating. Step one begins when you are able to notice strong emotions that come up during meal and snack times. Listen now to learn the additional steps to follow and how to incorporate Intuitive Eating into your health journey.   

Fresh Focus Episode #92: Intuitive Eating Myths There are a lot of myths surrounding Intuitive Eating.  VA Dietitians review one possible cause being that people can still be connected to a dieting mentality, which makes it difficult to change your thinking and reconnect with yourself.  Tune in to this episode to find out more information about how this journey may be for you.  Intuitive Eating involves giving yourself permission, focusing on self-care, and learning to be instinctual and more in tune with your body.

Fresh Focus Episode #91:  The Pursuit of Intuitive EatingIntuitive eating is a strategy to improve your relationship with food.  VA dietitians on this episode share the 10 principles of Intuitive Eating. Learn how intuitive eating can help you come back to yourself by relearning your own internal cues and signals while becoming better able to trust yourself, make peace with food, reject the diet mentality and to be able to respect your body.  Everyone is coming from different place with different experiences that influence your dieting history. Listen now to find out ways to slowly implement the 10 IE principles. 

Fresh Focus Episode #90: Top 3 questions asked to an Intuitive Eating RDNIf you are asking whether intuitive eating means you can eat whatever you want, whenever you want, listen in as VA Dietitians discuss the top questions they get asked by Veterans each day.    Learn about how intuitive eating isn’t a diet and doesn’t include food restrictions. It doesn’t mean just eating whatever you want whenever you want, either. Focusing on how foods make us feel often leads us to choose quality over quantity and can aid in fostering a healthy relationship with food.    

Fresh Focus Episode #89: Introduction to Intuitive EatingIntuitive Eating is a non-diet approach to eating that focuses on our internal cues such as hunger, fullness, and cravings to help guide our food choices.  Tune in as VA dietitians dive into how Intuitive Eating can teach us how to listen to what our bodies are telling us and give us the tools to respond in a way that honors our bodies and our health. Intuitive eating not only has a positive impact on our nutritional choices, but also our mental state.  

Dr. Joel Hamilton brings awareness of the Juneteenth flag with this bonus episode highlighting the arc, which represents a new horizon.

For those with cancer, eating can become a frustrating task. Some foods can aggravate symptoms, whereas some foods can help. Your taste buds can begin to deceive you. Your appetite can vary greatly. There are many appropriate questions and concerns to have during this process, even in regards to snacking. In this episode of Fresh Focus, Kathy attempts to answer some of these questions, and also talks about some great snack ideas for anyone that may be dealing with cancer.  

Non-starchy vegetables can be a phenomenal go-to to when it comes to snacking. They are nutrient dense, provide a low calorie source of volume, and they are very affordable! Join Beth as she discusses the benefits of vegetables as snacks, and gives us five usable tips to incorporate more into our intake! #1 – Eat your vegetables first!#2 – Try convenient, and easy, options. #3 – Bring life to your sandwiches and wraps with vegetables!#4 – Go slow. #5 – Expand your palate. 

Snacking for people with diabetes!? Yes, of course!  As with anything else, proper knowledge and the appropriate incorporation of snacks can absolutely be an option for someone dealing with diabetes. In today’s world, there are many advances to diabetes medication and insulin regimens, which allows for intake to be more individualized than ever before. Join Natalie as she shares her expertise on how to identify glucose patterns, understanding common diabetes medications, and determining when (and what) snacks are appropriate. 

Kerri knocks this topic out of the park by getting into the ins-and-outs of concession eats! There are many options to consider at sporting events, and not often are they the most nourishing. There are so many other factors that come into play as well, including what meal of the day it may be, if we plan to eat something small to keep us tied over before a meal, if we are eating just to be eating, are we trying to lose weight, and so on.  Kerri takes us through the ringer of how we can plan ahead, listen to hunger cues, be mindful, and practice other strategies that can help keep your next sporting event outing a positive one! 

In this episode, Sieger leads us down the rabbit hole in regards to the potential downfalls of snacking. Snacks, although enjoyable and sometimes appropriate, can sometimes be more of a hindrance than a help. How can we identify the difference? Sometimes we do things that aren’t quite working in our favor. Sometimes we have bad habits. It’s all about optimizing our intake and improving our relationship with food, snacks included. Join us as we discuss the issues with common snack choices, variables that can influence those choices, and how we can improve our intake structure in a way that works better for us!Contributors: The Fresh Focus is a team of Registered Dietitian Nutritionists out of the Marion VA Health Care System.. 

Whether you’re a parent with kids at home, or a grandparent, aunt, uncle, babysitter, or friend, this episode is for you! Lauren leads us through some practical tips and ideas to make your whole family’s snacks healthier.The typical American child eats about triple the recommended amount of added sugars and about double the recommended amount of sodium per day. We can help reduce that amount by starting with snacks and learning how we can make them healthier. We may not have a win with every recipe, but we owe it to our families to find items that are enjoyable while still being good investments in our health!

Listen in as Yaqutullah and Hillary share practical tips to reduce food waste and help save you money and time with meal planning.  VA Healthy Teaching Kitchen provides numerous recipes and meal ideas to fit your taste preferences and nutrition needs.  Have a plan to use up items that you have on hand to make sure don’t end up in the trash as food waste. 

Eating a plant-based diet can provide both health and environmental benefits. Listen in as Jennifer and Becca talk about the benefits of gardening and composting.  Composting offers a way to turn food waste into something that can benefit the environment. Consider starting your own garden. Gardening not only brings more plant foods into your life, but can also be good for the environment and help your budget too.

If you are looking at incorporating more plant-based proteins in your meals and snacks, listen to this episode as Shelby and Selena talk about some of their favorite recipes.     Be sure to visit the Healthy Teaching Kitchen YouTube Channel to watch videos and find plant based food items to try at home. You can have easy, delicious food choices while being more mindful on how they affect the environment. Check out the new VA Nutrition and Food Services  Practical Plant-Based Cooking Cookbook to find simple easy-to-find ingredient plant based recipes. 

Working towards being more sustainable is much easier than you might think! Listen in as Jamie and Becca discuss easy steps to start with during your next grocery store trip. Try to purchase foods that are versatile, can be stored easily and foods that you can use in more than one way. Remember it is always a good practice to push older fruits and vegetables to the front to remind you to use those items first! 

This year, for National Nutrition Month®, the team at Fresh Focus Podcast partnered with the Green Environmental Management System Committee, GEMS, to bring you information on getting started with being more sustainable by reducing food waste, eating more plant-based food items, and learning to cook and prepare more food in your kitchen. Jaime and Selena have great tips on how to start by looking Beyond the Table.  Sustainability and good nutrition are more than just what we cook, it’s how we shop, buy and store foods.  

All of the lifestyle changes that you have made in the last several weeks of this program have led to a healthier you! We want to help you maintain all of these healthy habits moving forward, which brings us to today’s episode! The last episode of the series focuses on how to maintain the progress you have made while participating in MOVE!. We will talk about some things that will help you keep the progress moving forward and ways to maintain your motivation.  Staying motivated is essential for long-term weight management success. Here are 5 tips for staying motivated.1) Remember the benefits you’ve achieved and hope to achieve.2) Recognize your success.3) Keep visible signs or your progress.4) Keep track of your weight, eating, and activity.5) Develop your eating and activity routine. Host Bio: Fresh Focus is a team of Registered Dietitian Nutritionists at the Marion VA collaborating with Dietitians nationwide.

Ever wonder about the connection between sleep and body weight? Tune in to this episode as Angie, Dietitian and MOVE! Facilitator at the St Louis VA Health Care System, talks about ways to improve your sleep hygiene and how the MOVE! Weight management program can help you reach your health goals. This episode will educate you on how sleep can influence weight and provides tips to increase sleep quality and quantity. Host Bio: Fresh Focus is a team of Registered Dietitian Nutritionists at the Marion VA collaborating with Dietitians nationwide.

A weight plateau can be a challenge and barrier we face when we are trying to better manage our weight. Find out how to set yourself up for success when experiencing this issue. Tune in to this episode to find the best way continue moving forward with your goals. Aimee Wittmaier with the Kansas City VA Medical Center provides specific strategies to help you along your journey! Host Bio: Fresh Focus is a team of Registered Dietitian Nutritionists at the Marion VA collaborating with Dietitians nationwide.

Exercise is such a great thing for our bodies and there are numerous ways to modify activities to avoid pain and to make them more comfortable. It is possible to increase activity throughout the day no matter what your circumstance is! Listen to this episode as Dr. Raine Bradshaw, a Physical Therapist for Truman VA in Columbia, MO, speaks with Amy and shares how Veterans can incorporate physical activity with the MOVE! Program. Find out how to increase your physical activity and exercise to help reach your health goals.  Host Bio: Fresh Focus is a team of Registered Dietitian Nutritionists at the Marion VA collaborating with Dietitians nationwide.

Navigating recipes can be a challenge when you are cooking for one. Common recipes are created for 4-6+ people. It is important to include a variety of foods to help you get all of the nutrients that you need, but how do you do this? Tune in to find out more about how a VA dietitian can help assist you in creating anindividualized meal plan for yourself! If you are worried about being able to cook the meals due to lack of experience in the kitchen, we can work with you to modify your plan and increase your confidence while cooking!   Check out the MOVE!program here at the VA for meal planning tips and what to put on your plate to make meal time a success!     Host Bio: Fresh Focus is a team of Registered Dietitian Nutritionists at the Marion VA collaborating with Dietitians nationwide.

Description: You may or may not have heard of the MOVE! program at your VA before tuning into today’s episode.  However, MOVE has actually been around since 2006. MOVE!is the nation-wide weight management program designed to help Veterans lose weight and keep it off.  Using weekly sessions to keep participants involved on a regular basis, MOVE! highlights making healthy behavior changes in the areas of nutrition, physical activity, emotional eating, stress management and other self-care areas. Listen in as our VISN 15 MOVE! Coordinator reviews how Veterans can get involved in this comprehensive lifestyle intervention program to help reach our health goals!Host Bio: Fresh Focus is a team of Registered Dietitian Nutritionists at the Marion VA collaborating with Dietitians nationwide.

March is a whole month dedicated to promote the profession of Nutrition Services as well as delivering nutrition education to the public. A Registered Dietitian Nutritionist can help you improve your overall health and wellness. Episode #70 focuses on the topic of health-related marketing, and more importantly, how we perceive, and engage, with this information. VA Dietitians help to observe the context in which these methods thrive, and how to shift our perception in a way that helps to protect ourselves from poor quality, and misleading, information.

In episode #69 VA Dietitians discuss different meal planning strategies to better “fuel for the future” which is the 2023 theme of National Nutrition Month®. For most people, hearing the word meal planning or meal prepping may elicit images of extra time cooking, pre-portioning the same meal into containers to be eaten throughout the week. And while that is one approach to meal planning that works great for some people, this episode explores different approaches to find a system that fits best into our lifestyles. 

In the United States the USDA indicates that 13.8 million people are considered food insecure. Food security is a federal measure of a household’s ability to provide enough food for every person in the household to have an active, healthy life. In this episode we take a closer look at food security, and explore a dietitians role in helping you reach your health goals.  

March is National Nutrition Month® and is a chance to celebrate eating healthy. In episode #67, our VA Dietitians review tips for eating healthy on a budget. Specifically, whether you are buying groceries and cooking at home for yourself, including family members, or making the choice to enjoy food away from the home.

The body can do great things, but we need to give it time to do so. In fresh focus episode #66 we discuss exercise in relation to cardiac health. Dietitian Sieger provides signs to be mindful of when starting a physical activity routine, and strategies on how to include regular activity and exercise into our daily lives. Finding that individualized movement starting point is beneficial for our mind, body, and soul.  

Excessive sodium intake is a concern for 9 out of 10 Americans. Having less sodium in your diet may help you lower or avoid high blood pressure, which is a major risk factor for heart disease and stroke. Dietary changes have a huge impact when we are away from the home. Whether its dining out or at the grocery store, the decision of what to eat can quickly become overwhelming. Listen in Episode #65 as Ashley, Marion Dietetic Intern as she clears the air on how to make a heart healthy selection.   

According to the American Heart Association, 1 in 4 heart failure patients are readmitted within 30 days of discharge from the hospital, and approximately half within 6 months. It is suggested that around one-fourth of these readmissions may be preventable. For patients being treated for heart disease, poor diet and medication compliance are the most common reasons for readmission.In episode #64, the Home-based Cardiac Rehab Dietitian discusses ways to lower the chances for of going back into the hospital soon after discharge. She includes 10 ways to maintain heart health after receiving a heart related diagnosis and tips for making positive changes to improve heart health.   

In a realistic world, heart healthy eating will have a different starting point for everyone. It might mean making a few smaller changes or bigger substitutions. If you are in the process of working toward eating healthier to reach your goals then listen in to episode #63, where Marion VA Dietitians review ways to limit processed foods that can be high in sugar and salt. Your local VA Dietitian can help assist you in meal planning to meet your own individual needs. This episode provides strategies to help find replacements for boxed items and provides many fun and delicious recipes with using cost effect ingredients.  

VA Dietitians want to help encourage Veterans, their family, and caretakers to maintain heart health. Keeping our hearts healthy is important and nutrition can play a big role. In episode #62, listen along as Kristine, VISN 15 MOVE Coordinator reviews her top three lifestyle changes that can help improve your heart health.  Starting off with selecting a variety of high fiber colorful fruits and vegetables and focusing on having a balanced healthy plate. In addition to our meals, working towards being physically active, and being mindful of your weight. MOVE! Is a great program to help with weight management. Finally, look for Whole Health options in your area for movement activities for a great way to increase physical activity.  

There is a crucial transitional time after being discharged from the hospital where making changes could prevent the need to go back into the hospital. As Dietitians, we understand how hard it can be to digest nutritional information when discharged home from the hospital. Sometimes, there’s so much information at once, making it hard to find a starting place once you are back at home. In episode #61, Registered Dietitian, Ryan Santanna-Hart, offers strategies such as starting with scheduling an appointment with your local VA Dietitian. Topics include meal planning, limiting high sodium foods, and lifestyle changes can help reduce symptoms. This series aims to support our Nations Heroes with their heart health.

Would you be interested in watching a cooking class demo while being able to be sit in your own kitchen and have the opportunity to cook along with the instructor? That is exactly what the VA Healthy Teaching Kitchen classes involve!    Healthy Teaching Kitchens aim to improve health by teaching Veterans and their families how to make healthy food choices by showing them how to prepare foods. Participating in a class or seeing your local VA Dietitian can help assist you in planning healthy meals. Check with your local VA for more details on available local classes.   This years theme “Celebrate a World of Flavors” encourages everyone to include healthy meals across all cultures and cuisines.  Listen in where RDNs on episode 60 of Fresh Focus provide several easy tips to help you in meal planning today.     

Listen in on this episode of Fresh Focus, where VA Dietitian, Dr. Joel Hamilton talks all about how to spice up your diet with using an ingredient that you already have on hand, a potato! Why potatoes? Potatoes are inexpensive and generally accessible. Learning several cooking tips using something simple as a potato can actually help build our confidence in the kitchen, and motivate us into trying our hand at all different kinds of recipes and unique items. They are also fairly neutral in taste and can allow you to practice multiple cooking techniques and seasoning combinations.     Be sure to visit the Healthy Teaching Kitchen YouTube Channel to watch video recipes.

March is a whole month dedicated to promote the profession of Nutrition Services as well as delivering nutrition education to the public. A Registered Dietitian Nutritionist (RDN) can help you improve your overall health and wellness. This year, for National Nutrition Month®, the team at Fresh Focus Podcast, welcome back Yaqutullah Ibraheem Muhammad, a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist from the Atlanta VAHCS, Arcadia Primary Care Women’s Wellness Clinic to discuss tips on embracing cultural cuisines and ways you can diversify your healthy plate. Find out fun recipes to try and easy ways to experiment with new flavors. 

It’s common to see misinformation about nutrition. Science is complicated and scientific research can be difficult to critically evaluate. Especially for nutrition, many aspects of the wellness industry are unregulated such as supplements and supplement companies. With all the confusing nutrition information out there, how do we know which experts to trust or how to tell a credible source from a non-credible source?  VA Dietitian Nutritionist Erin Gobeille in Fresh Focus episode #57 reminds us that a good place to start is information written by experts in the field. Check for authors with the MD, PhD, or RD/RDN credentials. Look at the authors qualifications. Ideally they should be educated in the field of nutrition and dietetics and preferably hold a degree from accredited university, such as a registered dietitian. You can also check to see if they belong to a credible nutrition organization like the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.

Have you ever seen a VA Dietitian? If not, you might be wondering what to ask once you are in the office. From what’s the best way to lose weight, what to eat when away from our homes, to how much sodium is too much are daily conversations in our specialty. Bethany, a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist from the Louis A Johnson VA , joins Fresh Focus on episode #56 where she answers the most common questions she gets asked by Veterans and their family members.    

March is National Nutrition Month® and is a chance to celebrate eating healthy. National Registered Dietitian Nutritionist day is also in March and is a chance to showcase dietitians as the food and nutrition experts. Each year we celebrate with a new theme and for 2022 the theme is “Celebrate a world of Flavors.” This means diversifying our food choices and being open to new flavors, cuisines and eating experiences.  It is possible to take what we like from different global dietary patterns and incorporate them into our lives in healthy, individualized ways. We can still have our own personal likes and dislikes while taking what we enjoy from different dietary perspectives. In episode #55, Dietitian Nutritionist Sara Peidle breaks down the benefits of choosing foods from all corners of the globe.

We are back with the sixth and final episode of the Fresh Focus podcast’s Myth Busters series. We’ve explored so many topics over the course of the past five episodes- from carbohydrates, to metabolism, to gluten, dairy, the scale, and protein in vegetarian diets. We are rounding out the series with a myth that is a big misconception when people come into the world of nutrition- and that is in order to be healthy, it is necessary to eat “perfectly” 100% of the time.You heard that right! The fact that you need to eat perfectly is entirely a myth. It’s just not true. And on top of that, there isn’t anybody who expects you to eat perfectly healthy all the time- not even dietitians or dietetic interns do. After all, we are all human and we all have foods that we absolutely love that may not be as nutrient dense.When you put pressure on yourself to eat absolutely perfectly and tell yourself you can never have, say, pizza, you are more likely than not setting yourself up to crave those foods that you deem off limits- even more often than you would otherwise. This concept is explained in psychology as the Ironic Process Theory, first theorized by Daniel Wegner in 1987. This episode will walk you through an exercise in Ironic Process Theory and talk more about how it applies to nutrition.While it is undeniable that food is an important part of health, it’s also important to remember that our health is made up of many different dimensions- including mental health, emotional health, intellectual health, and more. Choosing foods that fuel your soul every so often may be just as important as choosing foods that fuel your body.If this episode strikes a chord with you, go ahead and ask your registered dietitian to talk to you about the concept of intuitive eating. It may be just right for you!  

Gluten and dairy and grains, oh my! In this episode of the Fresh Focus podcast’s Myth Busters series, our host Megan Rivenburg, MS, former dietetic intern at the Bay Pines VA talks all about the ever so prevalent myths about gluten, dairy, gluten-free, and dairy-free diets.            Have you ever heard someone say they are cutting out gluten for health reasons? This episode talks all about whether or not it really is healthier to eat gluten free. The short answer? It’s not! It’s not necessary to cut out gluten unless you are someone who has Celiac disease or otherwise has a sensitivity to gluten.             Cutting it out for someone who doesn’t need to is not objectively any healthier. All it does is cut out a great source of fiber, protein, vitamins, and minerals, and make the grocery bill a little bit steeper.            When it comes to dairy, listen in as we explore what it means to be lactose intolerant, whether or not it’s okay to eat dairy when lactose intolerant, and more. This episode will leave you equipped with information regarding the myth that dairy is inflammatory, taken straight from the research.            The bottom line is that not only is dairy not shown to be inflammatory (unless you are allergic), but it actually may even have an anti-inflammatory effect.             There are so many fad diets out there that cut out food groups unnecessarily, when those food groups are really amazing sources of nutrition. This episode will leave you with the research-backed facts so that you can make your own informed decision regarding whether or not you choose to consume gluten and/ or dairy.            We hope you enjoy listening to this episode. Join us next time for one last myth busting episode where we will break down one more myth into bite-sized (pun intended!) pieces for you.  

It seems like in the healthcare setting we always hear “losing weight is healthy” and “gaining weight is unhealthy.” It seems like there is this thought that the best predictor of if someone is healthy is their weight and what number shows up on the scale.But the thing is, there are so many factors that come into play when it comes to the number on the scale. So many different things can impact it and make it change week to week or even day to day- whether it be fluid status, whether or not you’ve gone to the bathroom, or anything else.Throughout this episode of the Myth Busters series on the Fresh Focus podcast, we dive into the many myths surrounding the scale as well as things the scale can definitely be useful for, and things the scale is not really useful for at all.The scale can’t tell you anything about body composition. In other words, the scale can’t tell the difference between muscle, fat, water, bone, organs, etc. Since muscle weighs more than fat does, someone who is muscular is going to weigh more. Similarly, someone who has been going to the gym and feels and looks great may not even see a change on the scale.Additionally, a number that quantifies how much gravitational pull we have towards the earth can’t tell us anything about our health. And this is why using the scale as a sole indicator of health can be a problem. The scale doesn’t know anything about your labs, your blood pressure, your resting heart rate, your blood sugar levels, or anything else. There are so many ways that we can measure progress in health improvement without using a scale.If you find yourself wanting to weigh yourself, that’s totally fine! This episode will give you some tangible tips for weighing yourself more accurately without some of the factors that contribute to fluctuations. But if you get anything out of this episode, walk away from it knowing that the scale will never be able to tell you the full picture, and will never be able to tell you anything about your worth as a human being.  

This episode is another episode in the Fresh Focus podcast’s Myth Busters series, where we are breaking down common nutrition myths and topics that seem to get spun by the media. This series’ hope is to give you an evidence-based place to go back to in between visits with your registered dietitian in order to get answers to your burning nutrition questions.  In this episode we talk all about metabolism. We talk about how our bodies need food each day to fuel activities that you don’t even think about- such as organs functioning. We don’t think about our kidneys or liver working, but they are always working, and require energy to do so!  The episode dives into foods that are considered “metabolism boosters,” and talks about which of these foods have a little bit of a more sound scientific backing and which of these foods just simply do not. However, even the foods that have a little bit more of a backing are not going to increase metabolism by a considerable amount.  The episode ends by talking about one tried and true way to actually increase the amount of energy you expend each day- and that is exercise. Not only does exercise in the moment burn energy, but it also helps you to build up lean muscle tissue. One pound of muscle requires more energy to maintain on a daily basis than one pound of fat does, which means that as your muscle mass increases, so does your resting metabolic rate. If you are looking to start up an exercise program and want to make sure you do so safely, make sure you consult your healthcare team first.  If exercise accountability is what you’re looking for, you can always look into VA programs such as MOVE!, where you can meet individuals with similar health goals and keep each other accountable.