A healthy gut is a happy gut. Some of you may not even know that we have a large number of bacteria cells in our bodies. Specifically, a massive percentage of these bacteria live in our gut (intestines) and are referred to as our “gut microbiome.” There are so many of these bacteria, in fact, that on a cell-by-cell basis we are 99% bacteria and only 1% human. Yes you read that correctly. Nearly all the cells in our bodies are bacteria cells.   If we have such a high percentage of these organisms living symbiotically with our bodies, you would think we would need to treat these bacteria as though they are a part of us, right? However, most people completely neglect gut health altogether. This can be a dangerous practice, since these gut bacteria can influence digestion of food, absorption of nutrients, control over cravings, and many other

When it comes to putting together meals, I have always found it best to simplify things as much as possible. Nutrition as a whole is something that can be daunting, given the fact that new research is constantly coming out, and it is nearly impossible to keep up with what is currently considered “healthy” and “not healthy.” Therefore, sticking to the basics is always a safe bet. Although nutrition is largely a personal endeavor, there are some foolproof ways to make sure you are hitting the basics with your meal construction. That being said, this is a step-by-step guide I have developed to figure out how to build the perfect meal for you. Step 1: Establish Goals This is the most important step. Everything else hinges upon the decisions made in this step. Are you trying to lose fat? Gain muscle? Optimize for brain health? Optimize for athletic performance? Increase

We have all done it. After cruising along for a few weeks with great nutrition practices, one weekend comes along and seems to wreck all the progress we have made. I imagine that was the case this weekend with many of you. For whatever reason, Guinnesses just taste better on March 17th, and the extra servings of garlic-butter mashed potatoes seem to appear on your plate whether you wanted them or not (you did).   So after we binge and go off the handle a bit, how do we bounce back and get ourselves going again while minimizing the total damage done? The one thing we want to avoid more than anything else is an all-or-nothing mentality. This line of thinking is incredibly common among people who struggle to stick with a nutrition plan. The basic line of thinking is that you need to either be all-in on a meal

Although it is not a particularly new fad, the Ketogenic Diet is a topic I have gotten a lot of questions on recently. Usually the question presents itself as: “what’s up with this ketogenic diet, and should I do it?” The answer to those questions are somewhat complex, so it is very difficult to provide a general answer on the spot. The details are crucial when discussing “keto.”   What is it?   First and foremost, let’s cover what keto actually is. If one were to subsist off a diet which causes their body to mimic the state of fasting for a long enough period, their body’s form of producing energy would shift. The goal is to get the body to stop relying on stored glucose (which we get from consuming carbohydrates) for energy production, and instead utilizing a fuel source called ketone-bodies.   In order to turn to this

Every once in awhile, the public likes to pick an aspect of nutrition, demonize it, and blame it for all the bad in the world. For a while, it was fat (specifically saturated fat). The notion that eating fat makes you fat and eating cholesterol raises your cholesterol were considered to be simply facts of life. That is, until science stepped in and proved those to be inherently incorrect.   Currently, the whole nutrition world seems to be against carbs. Mythical stories of Lebron’s “Carb Free Summer” circulate around, paleo guys talk about ketone bodies like they’re the food-form of Jesus Christ, and nearly anyone looking through a menu at a restaurant comments on the fact that they’re “trying to cut back on carbs.” The fact of the matter is: carbs are GREAT for you. And in this post I am going to outline why that is.   . .