Wellness with Grace

22 January 2023

Honestly, despite most Americans eating processed meat for breakfast, lunch, and dinner... many are not hitting the recommended protein amount for their weight.

Here are the typically promoted recommended protein guidelines.

Many people do not realize the effect protein and its timing can have on your body and possibly weight loss.

However, there are some who challenge this idea. One is Dr. Gabrielle Lyon. She promotes "muscle-centric medicine." This means she believes that having muscle on your body is the founding principle of being healthy.

She is gaining traction on Instagram and I enjoy listening to her scientific points she makes regarding why you should eat more protein and early on in the day.

Here is her video regarding why you should be eating protein in the morning to support muscle growth and weight loss:

You can listen to her philosophy in this podcast interview:

Overall, it definitely raises a question for us as to why some people claim you can overdo your protein intake. For an active person, who is healthily partaking in weightlifting, walking, and other necessary physical activities, I don’t believe that protein can be overdone.

Photo from: https://www.cookist.com/10-things-to-look-out-for-when-buying-meat-and-how-to-buy-the-best-quality/

Enjoy the benefits you’ll feel from eating more protein immediately! Add it to your meals in whole forms for a balanced, satiated feeling.

21 January 2023

As someone who isn't keen on social media, it takes a lot for me to appreciate influencers and their content. Despite my high expectations, I have found an "influencer" that I thoroughly enjoy listening to and I believe has some excellent points.

Drumroll, please...

CarnivoreMD.

Also named Paul Saladino, he is more than an influencer. He is a double board certified MD who studied at the University of Arizona and did his residency at the University of Washington.

He goes by CarnivoreMD because he pushes very strongly for an animal-based diet (a carnivore eats meat). Essentially, he eats as though he was a hunter-gatherer, eating meat and fruit!

Watch his philosophy on a day of eating here:

Video from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FxmqHMXqEoY

He highly supports very simple foods.

Quality meat

Organs

Fruits

Raw honey

Raw dairy

It is amazing to see the benefits that he experiences, especially when you look at the macros he is consuming on a day-to-day basis.

His videos' main purpose is to inform the public of this natural way of living. Some of his videos are super scientific, and that's great if you're into that sort of thing. For some, it may be a little boring but I love hearing the cold-hard facts and I'm sure some of you can relate.

20 January 2023

Anyone find themselves reaching for that orange juice carton in the back of their fridge every morning? It pairs great with toast and eggs, right?

Have you ever stopped to consider the nutritional facts of orange juice? Or any other kind: apple juice, grape juice, maybe cranberry juice?

Photo from: https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2014/02/misunderstanding-orange-juice-as-a-health-drink/283579/

Getting natural sugar from fruit is awesome. Read why getting the sugar from the physical fruit is okay, but getting it from the juice is not.

There is a lot of misconception when it comes to fruit juice. Because it has the word fruit in it, many people automatically assume that it is healthy for you. While some may say "100% Fruit Juice" and don't show any added sugar, the enemy is still the fact that there is no fiber.

Maybe you're asking me now: Well, if I can't have juice, what should I have? I recommend some local, quality milk that is made with a low level of pasteurization. More details about low level pasteurization here.

19 January 2023

The word processed is thrown around a lot in today's world. When you are in the grocery store, how do you know if something is processed or not? What is processed and how do you avoid it?

Check out what WebMD considers processed.

There are different levels of processed foods. And that is to show you that not all processed foods are truly unhealthy. However, as you go up in the levels of processed, the worse and worse it is for your body.

In fact, there are some things that need to be processed in today's day and age. For example, dairy. Read what category dairy falls into and why here.

I like to think of our bodies as a natural object (some may call it a temple). Our bodies, thousands of years ago, were meant to take in natural things that were either hunted or gathered. Think meat, fruit, and veggies. These are all things that can be minimally processed and are made for our bodies to easily derive nutrients from!

Check out this video for a simpler way of putting the four levels of food processing.

Video from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2tTE5AVMIUE

Notice how foods that are processed typically have super long ingredient lists, often with ingredients that normal people don't know how to pronounce. A good rule of thumb is that if you can't pronounce/don't know what an ingredient is, you should try to stay away from it. Find a more whole substitution!

Anything with a long shelf life is sketchy, too. What kind of chemicals do they put in foods to make them last for years? My best advice for you is to think of food in its most natural state and think about what you would most likely eat if you were hunter/gatherer.

18 January 2023

How many cans of soda do you have in your fridge? Energy drinks? Any drink that says "Added sugars -> 39g" should scare you away.

Take a look at the nutritional label of a Coca-Cola 8oz can.

Photo from https://www.walmart.com/ip/Coca-Cola-Soda-Soft-Drink-12-fl-oz-24-Pack/10535216.

Having sweets in moderation is perfectly okay and a part of a healthy, balanced lifestyle. However, drinking a majority of your daily sugar intake in one can is never okay. Even worse: the diet sodas. The fake sugar, Aspartame, has been linked to causing cancer. Read more about the science behind it here.

If you're anything like me, water gets boring after a while. I also can't say that milk is my favorite thing to drink with dinner.

I have found the perfect replacement. Meet Spindrift.

Photo from https://www.amazon.com/Spindrift-Sparkling-Variety-Squeezed-Seltzer/dp/B07FCQKZ4F.

Spindrift comes in a variety of flavors including:

pink lemonade

peach strawberry

pineapple

mango orange

raspberry lime

17 January 2023

Does going an entire day without eating anything processed or plastic-wrapped sound difficult? Researchers are saying that Americans ultra-processed food consumption has been trending upward for years. My mission is to give you a look into what a day minimally processed is like.

Breakfast

Two eggs

Turkey sausage

Bowl of fruit drizzled with raw honey (Why raw honey?)

Photo from https://ourlovelanguageisfood.com/fruit-salad-with-honey-lime-dressing/.

Lunch

Brown rice

Salmon

Steamed Asparagus

Link to the air-fried asparagus recipe I use here! This crispy asparagus is to die for.

Dinner

1/2 pound ground beef (I prefer making patties)

Slice of raw cheese

Oven roasted potato wedges

Sparkling water (best type here - trust me)

Make this way of eating fun. Switch it up day-to-day! You will notice improvements in your health quickly once you cut out processed foods. Return the body to its most natural state and it will thank you!

Eating clean can be daunting for many people. Here's a video showing another day of just whole foods:

16 January 2023

Most everyone knows that the classic banana bread recipe we all grew up on isn't the healthiest. Some recipes call for up to a cup of added sugar... and flour is an "irreplaceable" ingredient.

A typical banana bread recipe looks like this.

Notice the "1 cup white sugar" and the "2 cups all-purpose flour"?

What about people who want banana bread gluten-free with whole ingredients?

I've found just the one for you. This banana bread is gluten-free, has only SIX ingredients, and has some serious benefits from the added protein. Did I forget to mention the delicious, chocolatey taste?

The recipe calls for:

2 ripe bananas

1 cup natural peanut butter (Yes, the one with that oil on top)

1/3 cup honey (as the sweetener)

2 eggs

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 cup chopped dark chocolate

Watch a video demonstration here.

See how easy? And you only have to wash one bowl!

Photo from https://hungryhappens.net/flourless-peanut-butter-chocolate-chunk-banana-bread-6-ingredients/.

Each serving of this flourless banana bread contains 9g of protein. You know how normally when you eat something sweet you experience a rollercoaster "high" with your blood sugar? Adding protein slows down the sugar absorption. It prevents the "high" altogether, so you never end up with the crash!

Protein also helps you to feel satiated (or full). This means you won't be as tempted to finish the whole loaf of bread. Instead, you had a balanced snack with protein, carbs, and fat! This fuels your body much better than something filled with added sugar and processed ingredients we can't even pronounce.