Sourdough Sardine Toast
This is a classic recipe used in my nutrition plans. If you want to become obsessed with sardines this is how you start!
Toast is a great way to double the protein intake in what would normally be a mediocre meal as a closed sandwich. Sardine toast is also new for many people and it is a hard sell at first but trust me, it is so good and if need be you can replace the sardines with other protein choices. Though not included here I have great options in my nutrition plans with marinated tofu, pulled chicken, chickpea mash and a spicy deer steak slices, all of which can be prepared beforehand and used over the course of about 4-5 days.
The Truth About Seed Oils
Nutrition science is difficult, the food matrix and the digestive and metabolic processes that engage with it are incredibly complex. Trust in science makes things even more complicated when money and politics can interfere and incentives can be questioned. Yet in the hopes of saving lives hundreds of thousands of researchers around the world dedicate their entire careers to understanding dietary mechanisms and the net effect they have on human health.
When you simultaneously demand proof while dismissing overwhelming evidence you are not a skeptic you are a denialist.
Is Organic Food Healthier and Safer?
According to a clinical report by the Committee of Nutrition, Council on Environmental Health and Academy of American Pediatrics –
current evidence does not support any meaningful nutritional benefits or deficits from eating organic compared with conventionally grown foods, and there are no well-powered human studies that directly demonstrate health benefits or disease protection as a result of consuming an organic diet.”
Myth-Busting Raw Milk
A frenzy of talk around food safety is currently buzzing around media outlets and across social media platforms. More awareness about the safety and nutrition of food should bolster our individual and communal health., right? Unfortunately many sources of information on food safety (wellness gurus, politicians and doctors with little to no nutrition, chemistry or policy background) seem to have agendas closer to deregulation and institutional distrust than they do on education and policy changes that make a difference. The guise often includes conspiracy to keep people sick for profit. Given the reality of free market, shareholder interest based capitalism, this is not hard to imagine. But imagining something does not make it real and deregulating our network of safeguards is a giant leap backwards in food safety. Increasing fear around food is particularly harmful to those who might struggle with health issues or those who are on a tight budget. Many of our Institutions have put in place processing practices to try and protect as many people as possible from food borne illnesses while increasing food availability. No one is saying that they are perfect or immune from corruption but these practices are still our best option in a globalized food market. An important example of such regulatory processes are the laws around pasteurization of milk and dairy products.
Is Aspartame Carcinogenic? No
We tend to lean into all or nothing statements, they appeal to our sense of simplicity ; “Good things always happen to me”, “I am never lucky”, “drugs are bad”. But the word drugs for example includes, marijuana, methamphetamine, metformin, Tylenol and psilocybin, Each compound being completely different and having wildly different affects on our bodies. In this small list alone we have the potential to relieve pain, alter consciousness, save a life or take one . Is there any real meaning in the statement “drugs are bad”?
Obesity and Pregnancy – the risks to the baby
You can be overweight and still be healthy. You can eat a diet where 80% of your nutrition comes from nutrient dense whole foods and the rest may be processed or ultra processed foods and you will probably still be in pretty good health. Especially if you are adding regular intense exercise and moderating stress and have good sleep hygiene. You can also live this way and have small tweaks in one of these factors and begin to develop health issues. But what often happens is that the slightly overweight person tips over into obesity range and inevitably, the health risks begin to accumulate with no real warning signs. At some point, the accumulation of fat stores throws things out of balance and creates a state of inflammation. This is not an overnight process and so it often goes overlooked for way too long. I am all for being comfortable with how you look but I am more interested in all of us as a society moving towards preventative medicine and using signals like obesity to look for red flags elsewhere is important.
Ozempic: metabolic scourge or panacea?
Ozempic and other GLP-1 receptor agonists are both controversial and incredibly popular. The popularity and controversy stems mostly from its efficacy as a weight loss drug but this is only one small part of the story. I think weight loss, as a topic is an emotional trigger for people and because of this, the logical fallacies of Internet-land begin to pop up. The utopian future where people don’t take these drugs to lose weight is far off, if at all possible and so I think it is worthwhile to offer some insight as to when and how to use these drugs,. It is also important to know that these drugs are multi-functional. They may offer people a lot of benefit when taken properly and while some people will always see it as a cop out, it is by no means a free lunch. If you take it as it is often prescribed you may be in for some real problems.
Functional Plant Based Nutrition
If you have read anything I have written on plant based eating then you know I don’t think a strict vegan diet is sustainable, not if you want to truly be at your healthiest. But there is a way to thrive and limit your impact on animal life.
The only supplements worth taking
In the current world of obsessive optimization its not hard to find yourself ordering loads of supplements, each one lauded as the next super ant-oxidant or life extension compound. Taking all the advice of Andrew Huberman, Rhonda Patrick and Ben Greenfield I would need to work extra hours each week to just to afford the pills…where would I find the time to add the daily sunlight, sauna, cold plunge, meditation, breath work, skin tapping, workout, meal prep, yoga, grounding and whatever else these health gurus suggest I need to make time for. Not that these sup’ pushers don’t dole out great advice on health and wellness, they do but things have really taken a turn towards what most nutrition experts call disordered eating (if you consider supplements as eating).
A Plant Based Diet: Healthiest Option or Logical Fallacy?
Years ago I wrote a two part series called – is a vegan diet the healthiest way to eat? Due to website issues, those articles are gone and so I wanted to revisit the topic because I think it continues to be a relevant question.
I grew up vegetarian until I was about 12 and then animal sourced foods were limited for another few years after that. In my early 30s I began a 6 month on, 6 month off vegan/omnivore experiment that lasted about 5 years. I was looking to prove that I could thrive on a vegan diet despite my very high activity level as well as hit various goals of gaining muscle mass and managing certain blood markers. I did this with months of research prior to beginning and then continued this research throughout the process. So I am not coming at this from a one sided perspective.