Sisters-in-Service
Are you a women veteran who feels unseen and unheard? Do you struggle with finding your purpose after service? Sisters-in-Service is a podcast that gives women veterans the platform to talk about those exact issues and more. Hear from other veterans, military spouses and Veteran Service Organizations (VSO) just like you that have overcome their transition from the military. Every Tuesday this podcast encourages women veterans to stand up and be counted because as a group we have a voice. From your host - Cat Corchado - The Voice Connecting Women Veterans
Sisters-in-Service
Revitalize Your Midlife Symposium - Day 2 with Mastering Midlife Nutrition for Optimal Well-being with Lorraine Cuff
As the Sisters-in-Service host, I am taking a well deserved break. In the meantime, for the next few weeks, if you missed the Revitalize Your Midlife Symposium, you're in luck!! Each episode will feature a different guest speaking on all things health and wellness.
Can nutrition be your secret weapon for navigating midlife? Discover eye-opening insights with Lorraine Cuff, an Air Force veteran and primal health and nutrition coach, as she reveals how dietary adjustments can help you maintain optimal health during midlife. Lorraine breaks down the transformative impact of hormonal changes and emphasizes the importance of eliminating processed foods in favor of nutrient-dense options. From infancy to adulthood, learn how to tailor your nutrition for every life stage to achieve the best possible health outcomes.
Facing pre-diabetes or high blood pressure? Lorraine shares her personal success stories and offers practical strategies for managing and even reversing these conditions through informed food choices. By reducing carbohydrate intake and choosing fresh, locally sourced produce, she demonstrates how simple changes can make a big difference. Discover the benefits of grass-fed meats, the pitfalls of canned foods, and the advantages of eating seasonally and mindfully. Lorraine's expert guidance will empower you to take control of your health through thoughtful dietary decisions.
Confused by the myriad of diets and nutrition advice out there? Lorraine provides clarity on how to navigate these choices based on your unique genetics and health goals. She offers practical grocery shopping tips and explains the difference between hypo- and hyperglycemia. Learn why pressed oils like coconut, olive, and avocado oil are superior to chemically produced oils, and why moderation is key to a balanced diet. Lorraine also explores the role of nutrition in aging, mental health, and cognitive function, providing a comprehensive guide to making informed, healthy choices.
Welcome to Sisters in Service podcast. Most of you know me as a strong advocate for women veterans in being recognized not only as veterans but also as women who are changing the world through our passion of serving even after service. This podcast is my passion, by telling all the stories of military brats, military spouses, active duty and veterans, not to forget the veteran service organizations that help us along our transition journey. I want to thank you in advance for listening. I hope that you will join me. Every week, a new podcast and episode comes out every Tuesday, so I hope that you will join and I hope that you enjoy. This podcast is brought to you by Small Space Pilates. Are you ready to get fit and fabulous from the comfort of your own home? Look no further than Small Space Pilates. With live online Pilates and strength training classes, a video library and a no perfection allowed policy, you can achieve your fitness goals without ever leaving your house. Click on the link for your complimentary week and start your journey to feeling fabulous today. Thank you, hi everybody. Yes, I'm back and welcome back for day two of the Revitalize your Midlife Symposium. You know me, kat Corchado, and if you were with us yesterday, you saw the amazing job that Kim did in talking about plant-based and how she came to it, what it sent for her health, and we're going to keep on that nutrition kind of path with our next guest. But before we go there, I want to let you know that you can ask your questions live, and so we'll take a little break and we can say okay, we've got some questions, we'll answer them live. Number two you can also go to smallspacepilatescom backslash revitalize, and all the speakers are on there and if you click on their picture it'll take you right to their website. I know right Magic, and so I'm so glad you're here.
Speaker 1:It is June, my birthday month, so if anybody else celebrates the entire month for their birthday, I'm all into okay, it's just more fun, and. But I also wanted to give back for my birthday, and one of them is learning. I'm a lifelong learner, which is why I got some of what I think are some of the most unique and experienced people in their field to talk about things like nutrition and perimenopause and menopause and bone health and sleep. You know all of those things. So, without further ado, I would like to introduce I'm thrilled to introduce Lorraine Cuff. Lorraine is an Air Force veteran founder of Cuff Biz and a primal health and nutrition coach. Her expertise in health and wellness, combined with her military experience, brings a unique perspective to midlife revitalization.
Speaker 2:Hi Lorraine, hello Kat, and happy birthday. No matter what day it is, I'm going to make sure it's your birthday. Yeah, happy birthday Maud.
Speaker 1:Yes, I love it. So, lorraine, I'm so glad. Make sure. Yeah, happy birthday Matt. Yes, I love it. So, lorraine, I'm so glad that you're here. And Lorraine did 30 years in the military air force. Yes, and we met. How did we meet Lorraine? I can't remember, cause I've had you on the podcast, but I can't remember how we, how we had met, connected through Amanda.
Speaker 1:Oh that's right, amanda. Okay, yes, and she's been on sisters in service podcast, but I thought she'd be an awesome fit for the revitalize your midlife symposium. So, lorraine, let's get right into this discussion. Let's get right into this discussion. So can you explain why nutrition is?
Speaker 2:particularly important during midlife? Oh, that's a loaded question, I mean it's not just. I mean, in truth, it's not just midlife, because leading depending on how you lived your life up to that point, you have to be very careful at times or you may be concerned as to what trajectory you're you're heading. If you're not getting the right nutrition, your health could go down, go south really fast.
Speaker 1:Well, I know nutrition is one of those words that you know. It's a small word and it has this huge meaning because everyone has their idea of what nutrition is. And so I have a question in that your nutrition should change because, remember, you're a baby, you have baby food, and then you were a toddler, and then your, your needs change as you grow older. So what kind of changes does your body go through that will help you or not help you, but make you feel like you have to change your nutrition? Is there anything in particular that your body goes through in midlife?
Speaker 2:So one of the key things that our body goes through is the hormonal changes. I mean as a young kid, there are certain hormones we're not concerned about. We don't have high estrogen levels or testosterone for men and so forth but as we go into puberty and we're going to our childbearing years and then into menopause, our hormones changes and our hormones are part of a chemical mix that draws on the nutrition that we feed, that we eat on or we feed ourselves with. To actually build our bodies and keep us in equilibrium Because that's the key thing we're trying to maintain is some kind of equilibrium so that our bodies function optimally.
Speaker 1:I know that nutrition is just tricky, because everything we see on TV, of course, is all fast food, and I'm not going to bash fast food, because I believe there's no such thing as good food and bad food. I believe that there is food that's more nutritionally dense than other food, but when people are looking to increase their nutritional value, where is a good place for them to start?
Speaker 2:So one of the first things to be mindful of is that, no matter what diet that you choose, that eliminating processed food of any kind, or as much as you can, is the optimal way to go. So, of course, fast food has a lot of processed components to it, and even when you go to the supermarket and you buy packaged foods anything with refined flour, refined sugar those are the things you want to try to avoid. And having as much whole food whether you're a carnivore or vegetarian or keto person, whatever those tracks that you take whole food, whole healthy food, is optimal. Eliminating the processed food as much as you can Doesn't mean that you can't have a little birthday cake every now and then, because that's always a good thing Right, hello, and I agree with that.
Speaker 1:Before we go further, lorraine, why did you become so interested in the nutrition aspect of what was it about nutrition that you said?
Speaker 2:I really want to really focus in on this, all right, so for me over the let's say, kind of narrowing on how old I am, over the past, let's say the last 30 years, I noticed a trajectory of how my health was going. I had put on weight and it's one of those things that you just don't pay attention to. You may, because at some point you don't buy your regular slacks anymore, you buy a pair of slacks with elastic weights in it. So as it gets bigger. Or your gym clothes, you know, as it gets bigger, you're still putting it on. But then I did still have a few outfits that had a belt buckle and then I noticed, wait a minute, I'm not in that hole anymore, I'm in another hole. What's going on here?
Speaker 2:And just paying attention to the trajectory of my health, and over the past recent eight years or so, I was diagnosed with pre-diabetes and I started doing self-exploration. I'm trying to identify what can I do to help not just manage the situation but actually reverse it. I did recognize that this is something that was in my family genetics, that my family, many people in my family, had basically been diagnosed with diabetes diabetes type two, for that matter and some people addressed it and most people just found ways to manage that condition and not have to reverse it, and through my exploration and doing my own, paying attention to how my body reacts to the different foods that I eat and other things you need to do, I was able to reverse that condition.
Speaker 1:Wow, that's, that's amazing. I think we all have. You know, especially with my mom, she's like oh, we must, we must have every ailment that's ever been found, according to my mother. But I feel as though you know she always cause high blood pressure runs in our family and she kept saying you're going to get it, You're going to get high blood pressure. And I said no, I'm not. And she goes yes, you are. And I said no, I'm not. She goes, why? And I go, I just refuse to get it. I just refuse to get it. But I'm also putting things in place, not just the refusal to get it, but you know, eating right, trying to exercise, I may still end up having to take some kind of pharmaceutical drug. I hope not. My point is to not, but I think that sometimes we succumb to that. We're like, well, it runs in our family, so I might as well.
Speaker 1:just look forward to it. And so I find that when people talk about nutrition, lorraine, they kind of shy away from it a little bit only because it's so complicated. So when someone is trying to manage their nutrition, they want to start eating right. They don't know where to go, they don't know where to start, where's a good place for them to start with their nutrition?
Speaker 2:So one of the first places to start is right there in your kitchen. Like I said, you need to open up those cabinets and take out as much of the processed food as you can Anything that's in a box. Minimize the amount of canned food that you actually have to consume, eliminate those things. And sometimes, yes, we want to follow tradition, but some of those traditions, those are the things that are actually making us ill. I know for myself, like I've eliminated I won't say eliminated I've minimized the amount of carbohydrates that I take. Eliminated, I won't say eliminated I've minimized the amount of carbohydrates that I take. And with that, not that I don't eat macaroni and cheese, but I save that for special occasions, for the Thanksgivings or going out with friends or things of nature. But there's certain foods, because the pasta that's processed, I don't try to substitute my meat. If I decide to have a vegetarian meal, for example, I'm not going to substitute with a processed burger. If I'm going vegetarian, I'm going vegetarian. If I want beef, I'm going to have beef. Why am I mixing that all up? So those are the first things you need to kind of minimize and get rid of out of your cabinets In your refrigerator, like I said, pasta. Make those things be the type of food you consume the least Incorporate, or have as much fruits. Make sure you have the rainbow in your refrigerator. That's if you're someone who enjoys vegetable.
Speaker 2:If you decide to eat meat, more meat, because that is a thing, then if you can do grass fed or pasture raised meats, then it's better, because whatever that cow, whatever that chicken eats, you are eating the same. You're eating, yes, absolutely. If you're having chicken or beef that's been fed, waste or regurgitated matter, then that's what you're consuming. You're not really getting nutrient dense food to help with, to help build your body. So you really have to look at those things when you go to the supermarket. Read the labels, read the labels if there, if the label, the items in that label, is, um, some foods that you can't even, you can't even say maybe you need to put it back on the shelf. So, yes, eliminating the process was the first and foremost thing and, um, making sure that you buy food from sources that you know. Buying local is always best. I know that basically, we've gotten accustomed to getting fresh fruits from anywhere any time of the year, but having things seasonally is actually optimal right.
Speaker 1:It opens you up for other things to eat.
Speaker 2:Yes, and certain foods. It basically helps you manage how you eat how you eat food essentially. But if you're not having this high processed sugar, fruits aren't what they used to be to begin with, so you don't want to be consuming certain fruits on a regular basis, so you need to manage all of those things.
Speaker 1:Lorraine, can you explain to our audience what the problem is with canned food?
Speaker 2:I know what the problem is with canned food. Good if we are starving. There is back in the time when there was a need of keeping food on the shelves and the time when things were hard to get, but that's not required anymore. Most canned food have gone through a process for um to keep it on the shelf for a long period of time. I know I don't need to be put on the shelf, so I don't want to be able to go out and enjoy my life because those chemicals that they put in the food, the high salt, right?
Speaker 2:Um, not that salt is bad for you, depending on what you're eating, but that's, in many cases, the high salt and the type of salt, right? Not that salt is bad for you, depending on what you're eating, but that's, in many cases, the high salt and the type of salt, because it's not as if it's Himalayan pink salt or sea salt that they're putting in there. These are sometimes salts that have certain impurities in it. That's not good for you. So, yes, we're not trying to preserve ourselves, and that's what these canned foods are actually doing. You're ingesting food with preservatives. That's not really good for you and your body really has no true idea how to manage those things, those chemicals and those things get stored in our fat and quite often, depending on what's going on in your body, it may get released or it may end up blocking or become toxins within our body and prevent us from absorbing the foods that we need to absorb.
Speaker 1:And it starts to cause a problem in your stomach. And they, doctors, were saying that you should be eating at least 15 types of 15 servings of vegetables and fruit each week. And I was like, wow, okay, and it was, you know it. But that might seem like a lot for someone, but if you just started with one, if you're not eating any vegetables or fruits, start with one. That's where I want to go.
Speaker 1:And also, you know my husband, when we would eat steak. I'm a carnivore, y'all, I just am. I'm a carnivore to my heart, and my husband I would. He would buy steak. I would buy steak, but it would be a good. You know, it was grass fed, all the things Right, and. But now, instead of his steak, my steak, we take one steak and we cut it in half and he has half and I have half, so we're not getting as much into our system. You know, I, I just love the taste of meat. I'm sorry, I do. I love fish more. But here's a question for you what are some, if there are any common nutritional deficiencies or issues that people face in midlife, or just in general?
Speaker 2:So in general, there's no real common deficiencies because, depending on the person's lifestyle, things are going to be different. I think one of the big things are is our electrolytes. If I can say, that's the most common thing as we age, where we need more balanced potassium, sodium. What was the other thing? Potassium sodium, magnesium. These are the kinds of things that we need.
Speaker 2:Some of us, depending on the diets that we are consuming, we may need to take it in a liquid form or in some kind of additive in the drinks that we drink. I know, depending on my diet, I do drink an electrolyte element, a couple of different brands. I'll try Now. For me I can, based on my diet, because I'm low carb, I can have higher salt, but for someone who has a high carb diet, they have to have less salt, so they would have to increase their potassium as opposed to increasing their sodium. So if you're familiar with the mechanism, with how the potassium and sodium pump works within the body, how our bodies generate energy, you in maintaining its equilibrium.
Speaker 2:There's a certain amount of salt, sodium, a certain amount of potassium that has to be present. If that is off, then that's what can cause muscular cramps in our legs at night. In Jamaica they call it a Charlie horse, but these are the things that actually cause cramps because your sodium levels are off. When you consume a lot of carbohydrates, your body holds onto water and salt. When you reduce the amount of carbohydrates that you consume, your body releases salt and water at the same time With that.
Speaker 2:You have to or you should I won't say have to, you should increase the amount of sodium that you consume, and if you are increasing sodium, then you're going to increase it in terms of, like I said, sea salt or Himalayan pink salt is the more healthier salt because it has other minerals in it. That's our health. So you really have to balance and pay attention to what's going on with your body not with the person beside you, not with the person that you grew up with, your neighbor, but what's going on with your body, so you can make the adjustments for you on with your body so you can make the adjustments for you.
Speaker 1:Absolutely Wow, lorraine. When I was in the military, I remember being stationed in Korea and of course, you have the chow hall the only place you can really eat and so what I started doing I would get a meat, a vegetable and a carb and I would eat my meat and my vegetable, which would make me full, and I'd eat a little bit of the carb because I was full. Is that a good way to kind of approach eating your food? Is that a good way to kind of start?
Speaker 2:That is actually the one of the best ways to eat your food. So one of the first things you shouldn't never eat your carbs naked. So when I say that, never eat your carbs naked. So if you're having, if you're someone who enjoys bread every now and then, have your bread with cream cheese or with butter. Because that fat component, with the carbohydrate, helps to slow down the digestion, the breakdown of the carbs in it being converted to glucose within your system. So when you have your baked potato, add the cheese, add the cream cheese.
Speaker 2:That fat component helps to, like I said, slow down the digestion, the breakdown of the carbohydrate, turning it into glucose in your body. So that's optimal. If you have your protein, protein, fat or vegetable first, that also creates a buffer within your system so that the carbohydrates, instead of it being converted to glucose right away, it sometimes passes through your small intestines and becomes part of the bulk, essentially to go right through. So having those things first and having the carbs last, because actually the carbs has the least amount of nutrition of everything on your plate. So the less carbs you eat, in that regard is better. Stick with the meat, stick with the vegetable and healthy fat and you're on a good track.
Speaker 1:There is something to be said that when people think of carbs, they don't think of vegetables. They think of the other stuff. But there are some people who feel as though they need to eliminate all carbs. And you need energy. That's where some of your carbs comes from. But if it comes from vegetables, can you talk about what could happen if you take your carbohydrate levels too low? What happens to the body when that?
Speaker 2:happens. So here's the thing when it comes to managing carbohydrates in general because you shouldn't do anything that shocks the system there are people who function very well on low carbohydrates. One of the things that people don't give any much thought to is that your body actually only needs about four teaspoons of glucose going through your bloodstream at any four grams. And when you think about it, when we eat, what we eat throughout the day is anywhere from, for most people, from a hundred up to 300 grams of carbohydrates, and that's looking at everything between the beverage, between the vegetables and whatever carbohydrates that you're consuming. So for the in any given day, we're consuming up to 300 in some cases we're consuming up to 300 in some cases. Right, and we only need four at any given time. And your body does make its own glucose. So how much do you truly need? And the only cells in your body that needs glucose is actually your brain. In your brain, cells that need glucose that can't function on anything else but glucose. But your other cells in your body actually can function on ketones, and that's why people who do a ketogenic diet can function very well. A ketogenic diet is not for everyone because, depending on your genetics, depending on what you've been doing over the years, ketone diet may not be good Because for someone I think about myself and my mother.
Speaker 2:All right, my mother was, or still is, for that matter hypoglycemic, and my younger years, all the way up until in my forties, I was hypoglycemic myself.
Speaker 2:I used to say, oh, my mother's hypoglycemic, I'm hypoglycemic, I've got it from my mother Not recognizing that this had nothing to do with my condition. It had to do with how I ate and it was a diet that I tried where it incorporated a certain amount of fast, a fasting regimen in that diet that helped me correct that condition. So that condition wasn't something that was natural to me, it was something that I sustained because of what and how I ate. So, managing that process in the mornings I can. I don't have to eat right away as I used to because, being hypoglycemic, I would get a headache right away in the mornings if I didn't eat something as early as possible. Now I can wait till two, three o'clock sometimes and no headache, and I function quite fine. I had my morning cup of coffee, since I love my one cup of coffee every day, but those things. So it all depends on where you are on the, basically on a on a spectrum.
Speaker 2:Some people do well on um, on low carbs, other people don't. But you still don't want to shock your system into making that adjustment because it just won't go well for you. But you do have people who, because of genetics and other things, that they can develop a condition called keto I forgot the actual term, but it's a basic condition where their bodies can't manage ketones. It gets to a high extreme and it starts building up into your bloodstream and can cause you going in a type of coma type of situation.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it causes issues. Lorraine, can you explain to our audience the difference between hypo and hyperglycemic?
Speaker 2:Yes, so hyperglycemic is when you basically you need to have that glucose in your stream. All your body is constantly looking for glucose all the time because that's what you've been consuming All right, when hyper is just the opposite. So you develop a conjuvate with low glucose. Then you have symptoms that are not good for you.
Speaker 1:Awesome, Thank you. I'm going to take a minute right here, maybe down a minute, maybe a few seconds, to just kind of let everyone know who's watching. You are watching day two of the midlife. Revitalize your midlife symposium with Coach Lorraine. We're talking about nutrition. Put your questions in the chat if you have any, and also don't forget to go to smallspacepilatescom backslash revitalize where you can see all the speakers we're going to have for the rest of the time and you can click on any of their pictures and go right to their website, because I know Coach Lorraine is doing a lot of things, so you could go there and see all the things that coach Lorraine is doing.
Speaker 1:And I feel you know, Lorraine, that never eat your carbs naked is a really good title for a book. I'm just going to put it out there, you know. Thank you for explaining that when someone is going to the store okay and I realized this quite a few years ago that you go to the store and eye level is all the stuff they want you to buy, all the good stuff. So if I want to look for oatmeal, where I have to cook my own oatmeal, not the ones in the packet, I had to look down at the bottom of the shelf to find it. So when someone is shopping they say, oh, go around the perimeter of the supermarket. What would you say to people when they're shopping of where to look for your food?
Speaker 2:I'm glad you brought that one up. So and I used to do the same I'd be going up and down the aisles all the time and spending hours in the supermarket trying to fill my kitchen cabinets. Essentially, and just as you mentioned, I spend my time now just around the perimeter of the store Very few times, unless I need a special dish that I want to make. Let's say, for my son loves green bean casserole, for example, so of course I'll have to go down the vegetable aisle to get that. So every now and then I may do the canned beans, but I try to use the fresh green beans. But for the French's fried onions, I think that'll have to get off the shelf to get that special flavor.
Speaker 2:But you should spend most of your time around the permanent, whether it be starting off with the dairy section or you're starting with the vegetables, fruits and vegetables start down that aisle, go down the back end where the meats are and then coming down the other end where you have your. If you're someone who consumes dairy or eggs, depending on what you are Some of us, of course, I am lactose intolerant, so I don't do dairy as I used to, and I think for a lot of people, especially those who are carnivore, who quite often are lactose intolerant. They are able to consume raw milk. That's what works for them. But try to go to the store with your list and your specific item, that you know what you're getting, so you're not meandering around the island picking up items that you probably shouldn't.
Speaker 2:In general, over the past three years, I don't even go down the cereal aisle. I'll go for the oatmeal. But there are. Unless my kids are not, they're young adults unless they bring cereal in the house, I do not purchase any cereal. It says on the box. It's hard, healthy, but it's processed. So you want to avoid it as much as you can Now. Will it hurt that if once a week that you wanted a little cornflakes? No, it won't hurt. But if you can stay away from those things, please do.
Speaker 1:I think everything in moderation, right. You know people are shocked that I have ice cream, like you're a trainer, you're not supposed to eat that stuff. And I'm like can you show me the book where that's written please? I need to see that in print. I don't believe there's a book that says that and I could still. I mean, I've pretty much eliminated dairy, with the exception of eggs, but I can still process ice cream. The dairy and ice cream I believe it is from my salty sister. The other half of the salty sisters, yvonne, says I feel so confused about what to eat at this point, so many different diets and theories about what's best. Can you answer that question? And then I have a follow-up question for you, lorraine Ryan.
Speaker 2:So the key thing is to look at what you're eating, depending on what you're trying to, what your goal is, then that's what. That's the direction you should go in. Are you trying to get healthy? Are you trying to lose weight? Are you trying to grow your hair back? What specifically are you trying to accomplish? And based on that, that will kind of help give you some kind of direction. One of the things you shouldn't losing weight shouldn't necessarily be your target goal, because most folks that are overweight or heavier than they want to be have some other health condition that's going on that they need to address, and not just weight loss itself. That they need to address, and not just weight loss itself. So the objective should be to be healthy in order to lose weight, and not lose weight to be healthy.
Speaker 1:I know there are a lot of diets out there and I always have clients come to me and say, you know, oh, diets don't work right. And I go, yeah, they kind of do. And they're like, diets work. And I go, okay, this diet over here works for those two people, this diet over here works for those five people, and this diet over here works for these 10 people. And so it's very confusing because it's the newest and best. It's the thing Cause all the influencers not all of them, but some of the influencers, and even some people who are famous, are doing these, and people want, you know, to say, oh, I want to look like that, I want to do that diet. So if someone is just determined to do a diet, how do they know which one would be best for them? What should they look for? Or is that? Is that a? Can I answer that question? Or is that? Is that a? Can I answer that question?
Speaker 2:Is that just like? So, first of all, everything, everything that we do, is a form of diet, even the standard American diet. Just eating whatever you eat is your diet. So the question is, like I said, what are're talking to? A nutritionist, a dietician or a health coach like myself, someone who's willing to sit with you and identify what concerns you have and what we need to address and what direction, guiding you through the direction you need to go? To address that, if you have certain allergies or something that's bugging you, going straight carnivore, doing an animal-based diet or lion's diet, may be ideal for you. If you're just trying to lose weight, like I said, even though it's not ideal or lower inflammation really, because quite often when people are overweight that they have some kind of inflammation that's going on with them a ketogenic diet may be ideal. But one of the things you should do and we'll go back to what we said in the very beginning the very first thing that anyone should do in trying to reverse or address any condition is eliminate processed foods.
Speaker 1:Hear, hear, absolutely. My husband and I and I think I said this with Kim yesterday is we've, in January, we eliminated ultra high processed foods from our diet. We just said, yep, they're gone and we've been doing pretty good with it. I think and this is specifically for women maybe men, but not as much when a woman in midlife has a pretty good diet but they're looking to build muscle because our muscle starts to wane a little bit but they're starting to work out.
Speaker 2:How do you know how much protein to eat, depending on how much muscle you're trying to gain? So you don't want to overdo the amount of protein, and everything is specific to the person, based on their weight and everything that they eat, so there's not a specific amount for everyone. So that's why working with a someone who is knowledgeable to help define those things for you is beneficial. Now, are you truly working out to your advantage? Are you doing strength training? Are you doing resistance training? Because quite often it's not just about what you're consuming. It's that you're not doing anything to balance the muscle, to build muscle, and a lot of us want to build muscle sitting on the couch. That's not going to help.
Speaker 1:Right, I wish it did.
Speaker 2:And even for yourself. I mean credit to you, kat, for the yoga and the pilates that you do, and I'm sure you know that stretching alone within itself is not sufficient and if you're trying to build muscle strength, training is extremely beneficial when it comes to that. And as we age, the reason why we lose muscle mass, because we're not using the muscle in the same way we used to. I said to my mom and my dad, when my dad was here use it or lose it, or lose it, right, and usually it means doing as much as you can while you're able to, don't you know? We eat our meals, we sit on the couch. Oh, I'll get up soon. Maybe tomorrow I'll walk. Oh, maybe tomorrow morning I'll walk. No, get up and do something. The more movement you do, the better it is for you.
Speaker 1:So I think one of the things that, especially for women, is that you know we start with three pounds or five pounds or whatever, which is great, but then six months later, we're still using the same three and five pounds, but then six months later, we're still using the same three and five pounds. Your body needs to be challenged. So when it starts to get super easy with those three and five pounds, start to put, start to do five pounds and eight pounds. You know so that your body goes oh, what's this? Because your body basically goes to sleep.
Speaker 2:Um, I wanted to mention which we didn't mention before the whole thing of processed food and ultra processed food, the oils that we purchase. I did an article recently had to do with canola oil and everything else Like. Is canola oil good for you? Any oil that's not made from being pressed. Coconut oil is pressed, olive oil is pressed Avocado oil those are pressed oils. Those are healthy for you. Almost every other oil that's made, even canola oil, is actually chemically produced, which means you are ingesting chemicals along with the foods that you're eating. If you're using those oils Now, like anything else, doesn't mean that everything in your food or everything that you eat should eliminate that, but you should minimize those things as much as you possibly can. Your body has no idea, right? These are foreign things to us what to do with these chemicals, and those are quite often the things that become toxins and build up in our systems and it's really not good for us.
Speaker 1:Absolutely Lorraine. When people are looking to eat healthy, I keep hearing that fresh vegetables and fresh fruit is really expensive. Is it a good alternative to have frozen vegetables? Is it a good start to start with frozen vegetables and maybe even frozen fruit for maybe smoothies?
Speaker 2:So that is your best option if you're not able to purchase fresh food. But you don't always. The thing of it is In many cases. Some of the some of the fruits and vegetables that we want to buy are sometimes foods that we don't even need. You have to kind of look at substitute. What can you substitute? Look at substitute what can you substitute? Broccoli is not very expensive.
Speaker 2:Think of the things that are nutritious, that are not necessarily bulky. Most vegetables are just fiber. We actually don't need as much fiber as they tell us, and some fiber is actually harmful to our bodies. But you have to pay attention to your body to know what is good for you. But after fresh fruits and vegetables, frozen is the next best thing. And, of course, in some cases where if you can't do the frozen, then yes, go ahead and do canned vegetables.
Speaker 2:No one is saying that you shouldn't do something, but you should keep it at a minimal as you possibly can. Another thing that you touched on before the doctor said about you should have 15, I think you said 15 different vegetables. It's actually you should have I believe it's either 35 to 55 different nutrients within any given week. But you have to also look at the herbs and seasoning that you consume. So even those things you need to mix up. So it's not about having 35 different fruits for the week or 35 different fruits and vegetables. It's incorporating those different herbs, thyme, oregano, garlic pepper. It's looking at all the components and you need to have those 35 varieties for the entire week. So don't think that you have to fill your house with 35 different things and drag yourself in.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that sounds like when you said that, I was like, oh, I don't know about that. But I would say, if you're not eating fruits and vegetables, start with one, just one, maybe a fruit and a vegetable. Start with that, because that's better than nothing at all. Lorraine, can you speak to people that don't eat breakfast, don't eat lunch and then they eat dinner? What happens to their metabolism when they don't eat breakfast or lunch and then they eat dinner and then go to bed?
Speaker 2:So that we have people what they call practice OMAD one meal a day and for some people they function very well and others it's not so great. So OMAD is a practice that is sometimes good for a period of time. It doesn't necessarily do anything to your metabolism. On the extreme, your body will say, okay, what's going on, and make an adjustment, so your metabolism may slow down. Make an adjustment, so your metabolism may slow down. But your metabolism is mainly based on the amount of energy you burn and not the energy that you consume.
Speaker 1:Ooh say that again, Lorraine.
Speaker 2:Say that again, please, your metabolism is based mainly on the energy that you burn and not the energy that you consume. That's huge.
Speaker 1:That is huge right there, yes.
Speaker 2:Yes, yes, if you're someone who there's very little activity and you're doing OMAD, yes, your body's going to try to hold on to as much as it can. But if you're doing some moderate workout and doing some of the best workout is actually while you're in a fasted state, as opposed to the fed state, because during that time you're actually benefit benefiting from autophagy and that's getting rid of those old proteins and bad cells that your body needs to like the Pac-Man going around your body and getting rid of things that your body needs to like the Pac-Man going around your body and getting rid of things that your body needs to kind of shift out. So, doing workouts, some level of workout, in a fasted state is good, but you shouldn't shock your body. Once again, if you're not someone who's accustomed to doing high intensity exercises fasted, you shouldn't just up and just start doing it right away. Gradually work your way into whatever practice that you're trying to accomplish. But yeah.
Speaker 1:So if someone is looking to help build muscle let's say someone is menopausal, perimenopausal, menopausal, and they've been walking maybe they were doing some weights is, would it be appropriate for them to have, you know, protein for like, lunch and dinner, like maybe not breakfast, but increasing to two times a day with day, with some kind of protein, whether it's meat or protein shake or whatever?
Speaker 2:So it's you can. I mean, I have protein with all my meals, so it depends on how you balance the entire plate out. Ideally, you want to eat. You want to be as mindful as you can be when you're eating your meals so you can tune in to when you're satiated, because that's quite often. People put a whole bunch of food on their plate and they think they have to empty their plate, when that's not necessarily the case.
Speaker 2:The more mindful we are while we're eating, the more mindful we are while we're eating, we'll be able to tune in on what's going on with our bodies. And I'm sure unfortunately I don't know whether it's fortunate or unfortunate quite often a lot of people are sitting down and watching TV or having these conversations on their phone and not really paying attention To say they're waiting until they're actually full versus satiated. To say they're waiting until they're actually full versus satiated. We don't. Quite often, like most of us, we're not tuning into that feeling and if you're having, your body will tell you when you've had enough protein. Your body will tell you when you've had enough fat. The only thing your body won't tell you is when you had enough carbs, oh darn yeah, your body will not tell you when you have enough carbs.
Speaker 2:Oh darn yeah, the body will not tell you we have enough carbs, it'll. It'll allow you to put as much cake and chips and everything in your system all the time. But tuning into to what is so, there's no. Like I said, yes, you're building muscle and you want to be increasing amount of protein that you consume and balance that plate out, then that's, that is a good thing.
Speaker 1:You had said something just a little bit ago about when you know when you eat a meal and then you work out. So when you eat, all of your blood flow goes to your stomach not all of it, of course, but most of it to help with digestion, is that? Is that correct, lorraine?
Speaker 2:So not to say so it depends on what's going on with everything else. So, yeah, extra blood in order to deal with digestion, blood needs to flow to your that area of your body, but that's not what necessarily is going to be in control. But that's not what necessarily is going to be in control. So, for example, you want to be more rested, essentially when you do eat. Yes, you might go for a walk after you eat your meal, but you don't want to do anything too excessive because now you're taking away your blood flow from your mid area and now it's going into your muscles. So that's not necessarily a good thing, right?
Speaker 1:And that's what I was getting at, but you just said it much better than I did.
Speaker 2:Right, your stomach is, as far as your body's concerned, your body, your stomach is low priority. So everything else is going to take precedence over what's going on with your stomach. And especially if you're in a stressed state of any kind, if your cortisol is high and of that nature, blood is not going to flow to your stomach to help you digest that food or to at least pull the nutrients from the food that you're eating so that it'll be available to your body. So you have to be mindful of what you're doing when you're eating. That's why it's good to sit quietly and almost meditatively while you're eating your food. Take your time, chew your food at least 20 times in your mouth before you actually swallow, because that also breaks down, because digestion starts in the mouth before it even enters your stomach.
Speaker 1:So yeah, I think a good thing is to take a bite and put your fork down out of your hand and chew your food we're so used to shoveling it in yes, that that's. That's not good either, and I'm. I honestly, I am guilty of that. Sometimes, when I'm trying to, I'm hungry and I've got a meeting and I've got 20 minutes, like this, but when you do that all the time, your body's in this constant state of stress when you're eating and then you get an upset stomach and you get indigestion and then you know it's just not good for you.
Speaker 1:I have a question for you. Yes, how does nutrition impact your mental health and cognitive function? You know, specifically during midlife, but just in general.
Speaker 2:That's a very good question. So there's a couple components to that. So there's one aspect, and this has to be related to your microbiome. If you're someone who has a compromised microbiome, that things aren't quite right regulated in your stomach and this could have happened because you were on antibiotics for a number of period or you had certain foods, that kind of change your microbiome you could have. Whatever microbiomes in your, in your digestive system could be giving off a byproduct that can basically get into your bloodstream and find its way to your, your brain, which is not good and that can cause mental fog. Then there's also a condition known as boy small IBS, small intestine, I can't remember Irritable bowel syndrome. Irritable bowel syndrome. There you go.
Speaker 2:So what can cause ails around cinema is that the microbiome that should be in your large intestine has spilled over into a small intestine and can also create byproducts that shouldn't exist in that part of your body, meaning that if you have cracks basically in the lining of your intestine, certain foods are seeping into your bloodstream that should not have passed, or not food itself, certain components within your food that should not be seeping into your bloodstream actually finds it way into your bloodstream and can find its way to your brain and your brain is so sensitive that this can cause anxiety, it can cause dementia, it can cause Alzheimer's and anything that impacts the brain, brain fog. And if you don't really address these things early, then of course, like I said, you'll be going downhill that way. What these things do? They cause some form of inflammation. So inflammation not only occurs within your entire body, it can happen in your brain. The blood vessels in your brain, in your fingers, in your toes, are the smallest blood vessels in your body. Any kind of inflammation is basically a damage to your system.
Speaker 2:Most people who become pre-diabetes or even diabetic over a course of time, they develop numbness in their fingertips and in their feet. If you speak to a lot of folks, they'll have this condition and not recognize what it's related to. And it's usually because of the either pre-diabetes, diabetic or even having insulin resistance. And this is another thing which we haven't spoken on at all. Because you may ask someone are you diabetic? No, I'm not diabetic. But that doesn't mean they're not combating with insulin resistance. And insulin resistance is the first step toward becoming pre-diabetic and then diabetes. And most of our bodies, they manage most of the symptoms of insulin resistance, they manage it, but you still have an inflamed condition within your body and at the end of the day, that inflamed condition also leads to cardiovascular events, which you don't want to go down that path. So we truly need to address have the right tests done, which quite a few doctors don't do an insulin test they all do glucose tests, but never an insulin test to see where we are along that spectrum.
Speaker 1:And I think our body when we're younger, lorraine, when we're young, our body can take that abuse. You're like I'm good, I'm fine, I'm okay, and then you hit a certain marker in age and your body starts to break down. People are like oh well, I'm just getting older. That must be what it is. Maybe it's the abuse that your body went through as you were younger and your body's now saying through as you were younger and your body's now saying, yep, now you're going to pay the price.
Speaker 2:Yeah, your body can only sustain the abuse, as you put it, for so long. But most people who end up with pancreatic disease or cancer quite often it's because your pancreas has been pushing out insulin so much to do with all the carbs that you've been consuming that your pancreas says, listen, I can't do this anymore, I can't do this anymore. And in trying to battle that, it can quite often, in many cases, end up being a cancerous type of situation situation. So you have to don't think that when we're young we're rather invincible, that your body can sustain that over the years, because it will get to a point where it will break.
Speaker 1:I truly believe that we take better care of our cars than we do our body, you know we get it washed, we get it waxed.
Speaker 1:Yeah, we take care of all the outside stuff, but I'm a true believer in in knowing that health starts on the inside. You might look great here, but you don't know what's happening inside, and if you don't take care of the inside, the outside is going to tell you the truth. It's going to let you know for sure that you're not. You're not taking care of the body. One more question before we go, lorraine, this has been an amazing conversation. Are there any foods or nutrients that that support brain health?
Speaker 2:There are healthy fats as one of the key things. So when you incorporate things like chia seeds, flax seeds, things of that nature, fatty fish, those are things that are good for brain health. Cholesterol is being made out to be the enemy of our bodies. When cholesterol? We need cholesterol to make our hormones. We need cholesterol to help our brain cells. Most of our cells have some amount of cholesterol. It's our main transport system with our body. We just have to manage it well.
Speaker 1:I love that. So, lorraine, can you give at least one, maybe a couple more of quick tips that our audience can take with them today, that they could incorporate almost immediately?
Speaker 2:So one of the first one that we've been speaking about, that I'll preach this one till the cows come Process foods, get it out of your kitchen, all right, eat as much whole healthy food as you possibly can. Whenever you need to substitute, go ahead and do that and enjoy your food in moderation, right so processed food, no matter what diet that you're on whether you're on a vegetarian diet, a carnivore diet get rid of the processed foods, yeah.
Speaker 1:And you know, eat and enjoy your food. But you know, when I grew up from a point in time where my parents were like you better eat all that food on your plate, and now I'm more of a, I get this feeling of okay, that that's enough. You know, my body's giving me that signal and I'll just leave this. When I first met my husband he, he loves pizza, like loves pizza, and he he would always get three pieces. And I said why do you always get three? He goes, why do we always eat three? And I go, but why? I said, why don't you get two and then go back for the third one if you want to? And he started doing that. He was like, wow, that really works.
Speaker 1:And I was like, of course it does so, Lorraine, I just want to say I just want to say thank you so much for being here today and and helping me celebrate my birthday month and being a part of this symposium. Your words of wisdom on nutrition have been amazing and I think we've had a great time tonight. And so don't forget, for those of you listening, that we have day three coming up tomorrow with Debbie Robinson and she's going to be talking about bone health. So if you've had osteoporosis running your family, if any kind of bone issue, you may want to tune in because Debbie knows her stuff, because you'll hear her story. So remember you can always go to the website smallspacepolicecom backslash revitalize to look at all the speakers. Join us tomorrow when we talk to Debbie Robinson about bone health. Thank you, thank you. Thank you for being here today, for listening, and I'm the freaking fabulous Kat Corchato and Lorraine. We are signing off until tomorrow, so until then, bye, thank you. You. Outro Music. Bye, thank you.