Amanda Watson
Holistic Nutrition Consultant, Board Certified in Holistic Nutrition®
AFAA Certified Personal Trainer and Group Fitness Instructor
NUTRITION AND WELLNESS BLOG
Take the guesswork out of your nutrition and wellness…
Serving you the best, most current research and advanced nutritional science. Let’s address diet and lifestyle factors to help you achieve your goals and fit your busy lifestyle.
Spotting Hidden Trans Fats on Ingredient Labels
You may be surprised to learn that foods that list zero grams of trans fat in its nutrition facts may actually contain trans fat! Read on to learn how to identify trans fat in the ingredient label.
Are Artificial Sweeteners and Sugar Substitutes Safe?
In my recent blog post “Avoiding Weight Gain During the Holidays” I recommend limiting liquid calories. Here I answer whether using artificial sweeteners and sugar substitutes are a healthy and safe option.
Avoiding Weight Gain During the Holidays
Gaining weight over the holiday season is a common concern for many adults. With all of the holiday parties and treats, increased alcohol consumption, and decreased physical activity it can be easy to gain unwanted weight between November and January.
Adding More Veggies and Fruits to Your Diet
Vegetables and fruits are full of vitamins, minerals, phytonutrients, antioxidants and fiber which keep us healthy. For optimal health we should be aiming for 5-9 servings of vegetables per day and 1-2 servings of fruit per day. Let’s take a look at how you can get this amount in your diet:
Why You Should Avoid High Fructose Corn Syrup
Eating a lot of fructose, especially from HFCS can raise levels of LDL cholesterol and triglyceriedes, increase blood levels of uric acid leading to gout and high blood pressure, cause deposits of fat in the liver (non-alcoholic fatty liver disease), cause insulin resistance and lead to obesity and type II diabetes, and promote overeating and leptin resistance.
How Much Protein Do You Need?
Protein is one of the three macronutrients (carbohydrate and fat are the other two) necessary for optimal health. Macronutrients are needed in large amounts and provide calories and specific biological building blocks.
Hidden Sources of Sugar in Packaged Foods
Many packaged and processed foods contain added sugars, sometimes from multiple sources and you really need to read through the entire ingredient list. Many times sugars are added when fats are removed in order to make the food more palatable.
Improving the Gut Microbiome for Optimal Health
The human body is home to trillions of microorganisms, many of which are found in the colon or large intestine. Most people think all bacteria are bad, but there are good bacterial strains that live in our colon (aka the large intestine) and perform functions that help keep us healthy.
Do You Need a Multivitamin?
As a holistic nutrition consultant I always encourage my clients to focus on obtaining nutrients through their diet. Whole, real foods contain a wide variety of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants in the balance that mother nature intended. Vitamins and minerals work together synergistically and antagonistically in our body and it is important to have them balanced.
Don’t Fear Saturated Fat and Cholesterol
There are many misconceptions about saturated fats and dietary cholesterol, it can be very confusing and I understand your concerns. These misconceptions stem from a researcher (Ancel Keys) who incorrectly found an association between high fat consumption and heart disease. We now know that the cholesterol and saturated fats we eat have little effect on our serum cholesterol levels and heart disease risk.
What is the Best Diet?
Our diet, or the food and drink we consume, is the most powerful determinant of our overall health and wellness. It can be our best ally, or our worst enemy. Unfortunately it can be difficult to know how to build a healthy diet with all the conflicting dietary plans out there. Here is discuss the common principles found in health promoting diets.
The Meaning Behind Different Labels on Egg
I frequently get asked what type of eggs are the healthiest. If you purchase your eggs from the local grocery store I’m sure you’ve been overwhelmed by the options available: regular, natural, vegetarian fed, certified organic, cage free, free range, omega-3 enriched, pasture raised..… How can there be so many types of eggs, and what do all these labels actually mean? Are the $7/dozen eggs really better than the $4/dozen eggs?!?
