Why Weight Loss shouldn’t be your #1 Goal Over and over again we read that diets just don’t work. The data is a bit scattered here, but this article from the Scientific American published in 2020 estimated that 80-95% of people who lose a significant amount of body fat do not maintain that loss at 1 year. In a 2019 article in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, researchers found that dieting actually predicts future weight gain. I know this first hand as I worked in an Endocrinology clinic for…
Lactose Intolerance Things you should know How common is it? Lactose intolerance affects roughly 65% of adults worldwide! It is very common. It is extremely rare in children under 5 years old. Many people think that they have significant gut issues when it is simply an enzyme deficiency. What is lactose? Lactose is a form of sugar that occurs naturally in dairy products. It is digested by the enzyme lactase. Lactase is available as a supplement to aid in digestion of foods containing lactose. All dairy products contain varying amounts…
Reducing Cancer Risk Healthy Lifestyle As a Registered Dietitian I must focus on good nutrition as a key in helping reduce risk of cancer and also during and after chemotherapy. Good nutrition can help improve quality of life significantly. We don’t want to forget that a healthy lifestyle also includes physical activity, stress management, building healthy relationships, and keeping up with recommended doctor appointments. Other factors that can help reduce risk of cancer are avoiding tobacco, limiting alcohol, and practicing sun safety. We also know that sometimes we do everything…
Fasting History of Lent Do you celebrate Lent? The first record of early Christians started observing Lent probably in about 325AD following the Council of Nicea. (The Council of Nicea also developed the Nicean creed. This creed has become foundational in many reformed theology churches even today. Search for it yourself to read it.) However, Christians were likely practicing lent as early as the second century. The genesis of lent comes from the desire to engage in some type of fasting in an effort to honor and remember Jesus’ 40…
Managing Blood Sugars: Diabetes Receiving a diagnosis of pre-diabetes or diabetes is not what we want to hear, but there is good news. I hope by the end of reading this you will feel empowered to make some healthy changes in your life. There are so many wonderful tools available to help you manage your blood sugars and stay healthy even with this diagnosis! I hope this article will help you get started in sorting through all of the nutrition “noise”. Myths about Diabetes First, let’s dispel some myths about…
Health at Every Size®: Is it Biblical? Let me preface this article by saying that I only wish to comment on the principles of this movement. Below you will find an outline of the 5 main principles, a description of common misconceptions, and finally, an evaluation of the principles as they relate to the bible. I hope you find it helpful to establish your thinking to be pleasing to the Lord in all things including taking care of your body. Blessings! Jenn Principles of Health at Every Size® (HAES) Weight…
Have you been on a diet before? Almost all of us have at some point in our lives. Many times people will tell me they are a “professional dieter” or they have been on so many diets they can’t even count them. Or even that they have lost over 1,000 pounds! If this is you, please keep reading! Even if you have only been on 1 diet, or if you are considering starting one sometime soon, you should also keep reading! I realize I am going counter-cultural here as I…
How to Challenge the Food Police You’re done with dieting! You want to be an Intuitive Eater! Except there is this voice in your head that tells you not to let go of diets just yet…Because there is one out there that has got to be “the ONE” that will work – right? It can be nearly impossible to improve your relationship with food and body if the diet culture voice is still being obnoxiously loud. The authors of the Intuitive Eating framework call this voice “the food police” because…
Can Science and Faith Come Together in the Nutrition World? Science and Faith I have been thinking about this question a lot lately. Confusion abounds when we consider how to believe science and still continue in our faith. Let me first just say they are absolutely not mutually exclusive. I firmly believe that God gave us science to help us understand His creation! We also must remember that His creation is so beautifully and wonderfully made (Psalm 139:14) that it is certain, we will never know everything. It helps us…
Intentional Eating: What is it? Intentional eating is not a new concept, but we seem to have forgotten the benefits of being intentional about life in general and also about our food and nutrition. I have used the phrase Intentional Eating to describe a combination of Intuitive Eating concepts and Biblical Concepts and how they can come together. Intuitive eating consists of 10 principles. Each of these principles focus on getting rid of dieting! In fact, three of the principles involve getting back to feeling and understanding your hunger. Principle…