December 2023
Commonalities In A Nutrition Course
Greetings,
I recently completed the Food Matters nutrition certification course, a comprehensive program spanning over 10 modules, each containing numerous lessons. The course delves into a wide array of topics, ranging from gut health and hormones to peripheral fields like EMF, sleep, and stress.
What sets this course apart is its holistic approach, challenging the prevailing dogma in nutrition that often pits one diet against another. Notably, the curriculum avoids discussions centered on calories and trendy diets. Renowned speakers, including Dr. Axe and others, contribute to the diverse perspectives presented.
Throughout the certification, a variety of people from all walks of the nutrition world shared their insights. Across these lectures, certain themes consistently intertwined. Here are some of the things that kept coming up again and again:
Minimize or avoid gluten and, particularly, wheat.
Drink spring water or reverse osmosis (RO) water with remineralization.
Drink more juiced vegetables.
Take care of your gut to take care of your health.
There's a widespread issue of nutrient deficiencies such as magnesium, zinc, and Vitamin D.
Minimize or avoid environmental toxins and heavy metals.
Recurring foods mentioned: sweet potatoes, cacao flax seeds, and chia seeds.
Stress is a significant underlying factor in health and nutrition.
Despite the diverse perspectives presented by speakers with varying philosophies and backgrounds, these recurring points underscored the course's commitment to a holistic and integrative approach to nutrition. I look forward to sharing more insights from this course in future nutrition-based articles.
Brian
December Stuff
Mind
Mastering Home Organization: Practical Tips & Tricks From Professional Organizer Dana Holmes
Your Attention Is Worsening. Strategies, Nutrition, & Supplements To Improve It
Body
Dad
The Growth Kit (Podcast)
The Minimum Effective Dose Of Strength Training: Volume, Intensity, Frequency, & Rest
10 Life Lessons I Learned As An Occupational Therapist
Find the full list of episodes here.
Follow The Growth Kit on Instagram.
From One Year Ago
Best Of The Month
Here are some of my favorite things of the month.
Quote
“Happiness is basically when things are slightly better than you expect them to be. The bullseye of happiness is things are about to get slightly better than I thought they would be. That's pretty much it, isn't it?.... It's not when the food comes out, is when you see the waiter coming over with the food. "
—Chris Williamson (Modern Wisdom)
Podcast
The Knowledge Project with Shane Parrish: Simple Rules for Happiness with Neil Pasricha Shane interviews New York Times bestselling author Neil Pasricha, discussing the roots of confidence, effective strategies for managing anxiety, and the components of resilience.
Book
Build the Life You Want: The Art and Science of Getting Happier by Arthur Brooks. A great, evidence-based look at why you need to be unhappy to be happy, the 4 types of happiness styles (I’m a mad scientist), and practical ways to build on the four pillars of happiness.
Product
Do kids need a multivitamin? My instinct was no but when the picky stage of eating happened and the sicknesses mounted, I was convinced otherwise.
I dove deep on the best kid’s multi’s and ended up choosing Hiya, and I’m glad we did. In addition to my son (and recently my almost 2-year-old) loving them, they stand out from other kid’s vitamins because they are:
Packed with 15 essential vitamins and minerals
Made with 12 organic, non-GMO, real food ingredients
Free from artificial flavors, colors, and sweeteners
Chewable format (not gummies)
Refillable bottle with stickers for personalization
Delivered fresh monthly to your door
Eco-friendly packaging
If you’re looking for a way to make sure your kids get enough of their nutrients, I highly recommend Hiya.
Things I’ve Learned
Mind
How Much More Income Do You Need To Be Happy?
According to a survey by Empower, Americans report that to be happy, they need to have a 50% boost in their income. This was consistent among all incomes.
Wasabi Boosts Memory by 18%
In a study at Tohoku University in Japan, researchers found that the main active component in wasabi, 6-MSITC, significantly improved working memory and episodic memory among subjects aged 60 to 80. The double-blind, randomized study involved 72 healthy subjects, half of whom took 100 milligrams of wasabi extract at bedtime, while the rest received a placebo. Subjects who received the wasabi treatment saw their episodic memory scores jump an average of 18%, scoring on average 14% higher than the placebo group overall. The researchers theorize that 6-MSITC reduces inflammation and oxidant levels in the hippocampus, the area of the brain responsible for memory function, and boosts neural plasticity.
Study Drugs: Work Harder For Worse Results
David Epstein wrote a mind-bending article based on a new study on "smart drugs" (modafinil, Ritalin, and dextroamphetamine, a component of Adderall).
"On the drugs, people spent more time on the task and tested more different knapsack combinations. However, they performed worse at actually maximizing the value in the knapsack. In other words, they tried harder, but did worse. In science, the technical term for that is: LOL."
Body
Holiday Weight Gain In 3 Countries
More Pulses = 10% Lower Cholesterol
Substituting pulses like dry peas, lentils, chickpeas, and beans for common protein sources and refined grains significantly enhances the nutritional profile of the American diet, according to a study published in Nutrients. Modeling the impact on the Healthy U.S.-Style Dietary Pattern, researchers found that incorporating about ¼ cup of pulses per day in place of one ounce per day of common protein foods increased fiber by more than 10% and decreased cholesterol by more than 10%. Additionally, substituting ½ cup of pulses daily in place of one ounce of refined grains daily increased fiber, magnesium, copper, and potassium, a nutrient of concern, by more than 10%.
Weekend Warrior Benefits
A study published in JAMA, following nearly 90,000 individuals, reveals that engaging in moderate to vigorous physical activity concentrated on one or two days per week provides similar cardiovascular benefits as spreading the exercise throughout the week. Dr. Shaan Khurshid, a cardiologist at Massachusetts General Hospital, emphasizes the significance of achieving at least 150 minutes of exercise, regardless of the distribution, stating,
"The important thing is that you do get it."
Hit the minimum effective doses, go all out once or twice a week, and reap the rewards.
Too Much Of A Good Thing
These two images below are good reminders of the importance of moderation. As the authors of the first paper, Robert Schwartz et al., write:
“Exercise might be best understood as a drug with powerful benefits, especially for cardiovascular health. As with any potent drug, establishing the safe and effective dose range is critically important—an inadequately low dose may not confer full benefits, whereas an excessive dose may produce adverse effects that outweigh its benefits.”
Increased Coronary Artery Plaque Volume Among Male Marathon Runners
Dad
10 Life Lessons From A Dying Dad
A 41-year-old dad of 3 fought Glioblastoma (brain cancer) for nearly a yer and a half. At his funeral, his wife read these 10 lessons that he left for his family before he died.
When We Make Everything About Competition & Outcome
Great, short article on the impacts of using rewards for children.
"The research is pretty clear on what the impact of this will be. When you start rewarding children for doing something, or when you make something competitive, you shift the emphasis from process to outcome. Children start worrying about how to win, rather than focusing on making the costume. It makes sense to cheat or get someone else to do it, if winning is what matters."
“Safe” Drinking Water Within Regulatory Limits Still Affects Birth Outcomes
The study, "Drinking Water Contaminant Concentrations and Birth Outcomes," analyzes birth records in my home state of Pennsylvania from 2003 to 2014, linking them to drinking water contaminant data. The study shows that elevated contaminant levels, even within regulatory limits, adversely affect birth outcomes. A shift from the 10th to the 90th percentile of water contamination is associated with a 12% increase in the probability of low birth weight delivery.
Filtering your water is important for many reasons, especially for children and pregnant women. Find out more about how and why you need to filter your water here.