A 20-ounce bottle of soda usually has 16 teaspoons of added sugar.

A 20-ounce lemon-flavored iced tea can have 14.5+ tablespoons of added sugar. 

Even a 20-ounce bottle of a sports drink can have 7.5+ teaspoons of added sugar.

Our bodies were not designed to handle large amounts of 'added' sugar, so it's important you understand the difference between ‘added’ sugar and ‘natural sugar.’

Just yesterday, my 9 year old was eating some cookies (yes my kids eat cookies too) and of course I'm teaching them too about 'added' sugar. He tell me he just ate 360 calories of cookies and I tell him that's good to know, but more importantly how much sugar did you eat? He then tell me 5 tsp. I then ask him if it was added sugar or natural sugar? He then tells me added sugar and he better stop at 4 cookies so he doesn't go over his limit of 6 tsp. per day of added sugar.

When you decrease your daily added sugar, you feel better period. So how much added sugar are you...

Did you know that chocolate is the number one food craved by women between the ages of 25 and 40 years old? Well just about every woman in that age range knows this. It’s delicious. 

Chocolate Overload...

We are bombarded with chocolate this time of year. Buying chocolate for our sweetie is well…just sweet. But, if you are watching your waistline, managing pre-diabetes, or high cholesterol, then these temptations are far from wonderful.  

But, unless you have an allergy or serious medical condition that is affected by chocolate, it’s unrealistic (and unnecessary) to say that you’ll never eat another bite again. The good news is that chocolate has many positive health benefits. These benefits include everything from cardiac support to strengthening bones to improved brain health.

However, it’s not white chocolate or milk chocolate that has health benefits. Dark chocolate is where the good stuff is, and we’ll look at that in a minute.

...

Happy Halloween! It's that time of year when American's will exchange and consume 600 lbs of sugar.

Today’s let’s learn how we can combat this volume of sugar by making healthier choices during mealtime.

We’ve all been there before. You want to lose weight, so you start eating more salads for your meals.

The Big Mistake...

This is great, but the biggest mistake I see is not eating what I call “balanced salads.” When the salad is not balanced, you’ll feel hungry and unsatisfied, and your unquenchable craving for sweets will be impossible to ignore...and that's the candy and treats take over.

Even if you cut out all the sugar and junk from your diet (and try to survive on meat and vegetables), you’ll still crave the sweets. That’s because your body needs a balance of all three macronutrients (protein, healthy fats, and quality carbohydrates) with every meal. When you cut out one of these macronutrients (which our popular diets throughout...

Are certain foods making you feel bad?

If you’ve suddenly found that you can’t eat certain foods that you used to love, then you aren’t alone.  You may be dealing with a food intolerance.

Food Intolerance vs Food Allergy... 

It’s important to understand that a food intolerance is different to a food allergy.  If you are experiencing stomach discomfort, joint pain, or migraines, then you are likely experiencing a food intolerance.  But, if your face starts to look like a blowfish after eating kiwi…or you break out in a large rash, then it’s probably an allergy.

The problem is that we’re not taught about the highly inflammatory foods that can to lead to food allergies or intolerances. Nine foods account for 90% of all food-allergic reactions. These nine foods include diary, gluten, tree nuts, peanuts, eggs, soy, corn, fish, and shellfish. Four of these same foods (dairy, gluten, corn, and soy) cause the majority of food...

Are you relying on discipline (a.k.a willpower) to eat healthy and become your best self?

If so, keep reading to learn a few important things you need to know about willpower.

This might sound familiar, because you’ve been there, I’ve been there, we’ve all been there. You vow to take a break from your “guilty pleasures,” because you want to look or feel better. You’re walking around feeling empowered and confident, because you’re able to walk right past the doughnuts and cookies that used to be undeniable.

Then one day, you skip breakfast, wait too long to eat lunch, or someone rubs you the wrong way at work and puts you in a bad mood. Then, just your luck, your coworker happens to bring in your favorite pastry. But…that’s not going to stop you, so you walk right by it! But as you sit in your office, you can’t seem to stop thinking about the deliciousness waiting for you down the hall. Finally, you can’t resist...

Do you know that feeling? 

The one where you’ve finished a healthy dinner and then thought to yourself, “I’m hungry, I need a snack,” and before you know it, the entire bag of chips or carton of ice cream is gone only to stop and think, “wow, who just ate that?” 

I’ve lost count of the clients that have come to me eating late at night (or even waking up to eat in the middle of the night). They feel ashamed, guilty, and think something is wrong with them. They often say, “if only I had a little more willpower.”

This has nothing to do with willpower...

The good news is that this isn’t willpower problem. In most cases it’s a human physiology (the science of how the human body works) problem.  But, you can “stack the cards” in your favor and say “good bye” to the late-night eating and that is exploding your waistline and crushing your health goals.

Here are the keys to your evening...

Is your stress, hijacking your gut health? 

If you’ve ever listened to an older friend or family member speaking of the “good ole days,” they might have referred to them as being simpler times. I know when I look at the world my kids are growing up in, it seems more complicated and difficult.

Along with the evolution of society came an overall increase in day-to-day stress that we are all working to manage. Today I want to talk about how stress can impact your gut health and what you need to be doing to protect your health.

First a quick lesson on stress…

You’ve probably heard the analogy about a bear walking into the room and your body’s immediate transition into “fight, flight, or freeze” mode. It’s a natural change of state that’s been around from the beginning of time to protect us from (and help us survive) those severely stressful events that we encounter.  The problem is that the fight or flight response...

Is your child's nutrition allowing them to learn, grow, and thrive? 

It’s shocking that despite all the medical advances over the last century, today’s children are expected to have a shorter life expectancy than their parents. A big contributor to this problem is poor nutrition, but it doesn’t have to be that way in your house.

Feeding your kids healthier food provides them the nutrients they need to grow, develop, and to be healthier (and have better lives). When they are getting the nutrition they need, they are able to think and learn at a higher capacity. The whole family will reap the benefits.

Yes, taste buds can change...

Back-to-school time is your chance to shop smarter so your children can have their “best foot” forward this school year. I suggest that most parents start this process by slowly, but deliberately, changing the family’s taste buds.

For example, if your kids are eating a lot of processed, packaged snacks filled with...

Are you diabetic or have a close family member or friend who is?

Let's bring  attention to diabetes and its impact on millions of Americans. Today, one in eleven Americans have diabetes, and according to the Center for Disease Control it is the 7th leading cause of death just behind stroke and Alzheimer’s disease. What you eat daily may impact you greatly when it comes to diabetes.  

Of the two types of diabetes, type 2 diabetes is the most common. It occurs when your body does not properly use insulin. You may have also heard this called insulin resistance. Insulin is produced in the pancreas and is responsible for removing glucose from your blood to feed your cells.

When glucose does not move from the blood, this results in high blood glucose or high blood sugar. Your cells become starved for energy which causes you to experience many undesirable symptoms such as frequent urination, shakiness, anxiousness, irritability, headaches, nausea, weight...

Are Your ‘Gut’ and Your Brain Really Connected?

We’ve all experienced it…that moment when you can’t think of the word and you just sort of babble as you try and get your thoughts straight.  This mental “clouding” has been labeled brain fog. It slows you down and can be very frustrating.    

Often, there are two key issues to blame. The first is the lack of the brain’s primary fuel source glucose as well as other critical micronutrients. The second is your “gut” health.

Carbohydrates and the brain…

So, if the best fuel for the brain is glucose, then eating a high-carbohydrate diet must be best for the brain, right?

Well, not exactly. Unless you have a brain or neurological disorder, a moderate range of carbohydrates best supports brain function and reduces brain fog.

However, if you have a brain or neurological disorder, then studies have shown a very-low carbohydrate diet is best. Did you know...