by Jen Owen, N.P. | Aug 23, 2024 | Food Medicine
Written by our Functional Nutritionist & Health Coach, Cindy Wiedoff
Optimal gut health begins with our daily habits. In order to set yourself up for success, the focus must shift to making mealtime a priority.
After all we spend a good amount of time eating, typically an average of 3 to 5 times daily.
The more we can do to start the digestion process off right, the more likely we are able to absorb nutrients and avoid digestive dysfunction.
I put together a few helpful HINTs (see what I did there) to help improve your overall gut health and digestive processes.
Digestion should be visualized as a “north to south” process.
It begins in your brain (north), not your stomach!
The act of smelling and seeing the food tells your brain its time to eat, so it sends out a signal telling the digestive system to get ready to eat. This stimulates the production of stomach acid and enzymes needed to assist the body in breaking down food as it moves down “south”.
If we skip this crucial step, the next stage of digestion will become more difficult.
It’s important to be in a relaxed frame of mind. Proper digestion can only happen when we are in a parasympathetic (relaxed) state of being.
That means being mindful about the entire process and avoiding potential distractions like multitasking. Mindful eating includes taking the time to be seated, to eat slow, breathe, look, and smell before you even take your first bites of food.
For my clients, I provide an in depth examination of digestion and eating habits. I help pin point areas that may be hindering optimal health, then guide them through the process to improve certain aspects.
Tips for optimal digestion and overall gut health:
1. Choose your location wisely.
Sitting and eating in a relaxed or parasympathetic state helps the brain to focus on the task at hand, which is the digestion process. When we sit in a relaxed state, both the brain and body can work together to accomplish all that comes with digestion.
It is especially important to find a quiet space away from distractions like work, television, and computers. Mindful eating is much easier to accomplish when there are no distractions.
In my opinion, this is the most important step.
2. Prepare more meals at home.
Preparing food at home should be a sensory experience. When we see, smell and handle food, the brain tells the body that it is time to eat.
Doing this helps the brain and body begin the digestion process.
Many clients will notice some weight loss when making the majority of their meals at home.
Eating out often adds unwanted calories and the overconsumption of processed foods. You also have control over what goes into your food and the quality of ingredients used.
An additional benefit would be using that time as an opportunity to connect with loved ones and those around us.
3. Drink the majority of your water between meals.
You need potent stomach acid to help break down food while eating so more nutrients can be absorbed. Water and other beverages consumed during meals dilute the necessary stomach acid needed to begin breaking down food and absorbing nutrients.
It’s best to sip a little water as needed when eating.
4. Consider digestive support products.
Products like bitters, apple cider vinegar, or HCL (hydrochloric acid) prior to mealtime help create the appropriate level of stomach acid needed to breakdown food.
Products like digestive bitters help digestion because of their bitter taste See my blog here about bitters here. They stimulate your bitter taste buds, which signal different activities in your digestive system that start making more saliva, stomach acid, and enzymes (like pepsin) that help you start to break down your food.
As we age, the level of gastric juice we make naturally begins to decrease, making it more difficult to break down food, absorb nutrients.
So adding bitters to your diet can assist you.
5. Incorporate probiotics and/or cultured and fermented foods into your diet.
Take a probiotic daily and change the type every few months to introduce a variety of strains.
If the digestive system is strong enough, and histamines aren’t an issue try adding some fermented foods into your diet.
Fermented and cultured foods create (probiotic) and feed (prebiotic) our beneficial gut bacteria. For example, kefir, low sugar cultured yogurts, kimchee, saurkraut, kombucha, miso, and fermented vegetables are all great sources.
6. Chew, chew, chew your food slowly and thoroughly.
Eating slowly and chewing thoroughly helps mix the saliva and enzymes needed to break down food properly and ensures vitamins and minerals are absorbed.
Proper chewing also helps the digestion process break the food down to a size that is safe to enter the next phase of digestion. If food particles are too large, they can stay undigested, ferment, and become food for undesirable bacterial overgrowth and create conditions like Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth (SIBO).
When large pieces of undigested food moves further down the digestive tract, it can create holes in the mesh-like lining of the intestines and cause situations such as irritable bowl syndrome, leaky gut, and food sensitivities.
7. Increase fiber intake
Fiber encourages the elimination of waste in a timely or “regular” cycle.
Increasing the amount of fiber you consume daily feeds beneficial gut bacteria needed to maintain balance and harmony.
It will also make you feel full longer and help stabilize blood sugar, which helps control unwanted food cravings.
Here are some small changes that can make big differences.
And they don’t cost you any money
1. Try to savor and enjoy your food. Take deep breaths before you start to eat and have a grateful mindset or attitude for the food in front of you.
2. Time yourself eating. See if you can extend that time to slow down and chew food longer.
3. Challenge yourself to reduce the amount of liquids around your meal time, especially during and after eating. This will increase the stomach acid available for proper digestion.
Having digestion issues? Not sure what to eat or what probiotic to take? Looking to lose weight or eat optimally for a chronic condition?
I can help!
I can work with you at The Flourish Center in Portland, or anywhere in the world via online sessions.
by Jen Owen, N.P. | Feb 17, 2023 | Food Medicine
The connection between gut health and mental health
with Peggy Fisher, our Functional Nutritionist
Did you know that what we eat can affect our mood and how we feel? Interestingly, there is a connection between a healthy and diverse microbiome, the bacteria in our gastrointestinal system, and our mood. Newer research focuses on the microbiota-gut-brain axis – the connection between your gut, its bacteria, and your brain. The trillions of gut microbes are more closely connected to our mood that we have realized in the past.
How so?
Gut microbiota help by producing neurotransmitters – molecules that communicate with our brain including serotonin, dopamine, and melatonin. In fact, the majority of serotonin is produced in our gut! Inflammation in the gut caused by poor diet, alcohol, or an imbalance in bacteria species can interfere with this process, reducing the production of serotonin and other neurotransmitters.
Studies have shown that those with depression and anxiety often have an altered microbiome. But does it work the other way around? Can changing our microbiome affect our mood and anxiety levels? Yes – there is exciting research in both animals and humans showing that changing gut microbiota through diet and probiotics can improve brain neurochemistry and mood.
So, what can you do to nurture your own healthy microbiome?
Probiotics are one way to change bacterial composition in the gut, and there are specific strains that target mood enhancement. While probiotics can be helpful, diet is the factor that has the largest influence on our microbiome.
The best way to nurture a healthy gut microbiome is by eating a diet that is rich in colorful plant-based foods such as vegetables, fruits, whole grains, legumes, nuts and seeds, while minimizing sugar, processed and fried foods, and alcohol. Studies have consistently confirmed that a healthy diet can improve depression and anxiety symptoms, and that changes in diet can result in small shifts in microbial composition within just a day.
Foods that are high in omega 3 fatty acids like salmon or other cold-water fish, nuts, and seeds are specifically helpful in fighting depression. High fiber foods like berries, broccoli and beans are beneficial by providing fiber that feeds a healthy microbiome.
For more personalized information on how nutrition and targeted supplements can support your mood, click here to book a free discovery call with me. I can work with you at The Flourish Center or online.
by Jen Owen, N.P. | Jan 5, 2023 | Flourish Team, Food Medicine
Written by our new Functional Nutritionist, Peggy Fisher.
Many of us start the new year with resolutions, intentions, or goals in mind – often related to improving our health by eating better or exercising more. Yet these resolutions frequently fall to the wayside after several weeks or months. How do we incorporate healthy habits that “stick”?
Here are four keys I’ve found helpful in my work with nutrition clients:
Key #1:
Start small and be specific. Creating new habits can be tough, so start with a small specific goal, something that you feel confident you can achieve and maintain. Success in one or two small areas fosters self-confidence and belief that we can achieve additional goals. Small wins over time can therefore lead to lasting, meaningful change.
As an example, rather than setting a goal of eating healthier, try starting with something more specific and simpler – drinking two glasses of water each morning to start the day hydrated; eating at least one non-starchy vegetable each day; or reducing/eliminating one sugary beverage per day. Once you’ve mastered your initial goal for several months, you can add another.
Key #2:
Keep it real. There are many fad “diets” and lots of confusing information available. Incorporating a wide variety of real, whole plant-based foods including fruits, vegetables, beans, nuts, and seeds in unprocessed forms is the best approach. Fish and lean meats are also good protein sources. Unless there is an allergy or sensitivity, eating a variety of foods is healthier and more sustainable than diets that restrict certain foods or food groups. A wide variety of plant-based foods also promotes a healthy and diverse microbiome.
Key #3:
Have an accountability partner (or partners). Writing an intention down and sharing it with others helps make it tangible. Set up a regular schedule for checking in, whether it’s a quick text message or a weekly phone call. Share your successes and challenges and cheer each other on. It can be motivating and rewarding for both of you!
Key #4:
Remember that if you have a day or week that doesn’t go as planned – that’s okay. It’s not about being perfect (there is no such thing)! It’s about moving slowly in the right direction and recognizing your achievements.
Whether your goal is resolving symptoms or simply improving your overall health, I’d be honored to help you in your journey.
Schedule a FREE Discovery Call with me here.
by Jen Owen, N.P. | Aug 30, 2022 | Food Medicine
Written by our Medical Assistant in the Flourish clinic, Martine:
Hi everyone! Jen has allowed me to write a blog this week to discuss something I’m really passionate about: breakfast!
Some of you know this but before I started working for Jen, I was her patient. Initially I came to see Jen because I was so exhausted all the time. Sometimes I would sleep from 7pm to 7am and still slug through my day as if I hadn’t slept a wink.
I had new and stubborn abdominal fat that I assumed was just the pandemic weight that most of us seemed to gain. And my mood was just…off. I consider myself a happy, positive person but I felt like there was a dark cloud hovering above me that I just couldn’t shake.
After some testing, Jen diagnosed me with insulin resistance. She told me that one of the most important things you can do to help this process is eating protein. You want to eat protein every few hours throughout the day, eat a high protein breakfast, and always have protein at your meals and with any carbs that you eat. By doing that, you’re going to stabilize your blood sugar level in your blood and you’re going to reduce the insulin resistance for those cells.
The other thing that really helps do this is healthy fats.The right fats increase metabolism, stimulate fat burning, cut hunger, optimize your cholesterol profile and can reverse type 2 diabetes and reduce your risk for heart disease. There’s a great book you can read to learn more by Dr Mark Hyman called “Eat Fat, Get Thin”.
Here are three easy breakfasts I make for my husband and myself. They’re all very customizable based on your dietary needs and preferences. All three do include avocado. If you’re not a fan and you need another way to get some good fat, try having some walnuts or Brazil nuts on the side. If you can have dairy, Greek or Nordic yogourt is also a great choice. A drizzle of flax or hemp oil would also be amazing.
Eating breakfasts like this have really been a game changer for me. I have more energy, I’m losing weight, and feeling so much better!
Air Fryer Classic Breakfast
Dairy-free, gluten-free, can be soy-free, can be vegan.
This is a good one for when you’re in a hurry—everything comes together in the air fryer with very minimal effort. You could do the same thing in a regular frying pan as well!
What you’ll need:
Frozen sweet potato fries/tots/cubes
Breakfast sausage (made of whatever you like! Pork, turkey, or meatless)
1-2 eggs depending on how hungry you are
1/2 of an avocado or guacamole
Put the sweet potato and the breakfast sausage in the air fryer at 390 degrees for 5 minutes. You don’t need to add any oil. After that, crack two eggs into the air fryer and season everything with salt and pepper. Feel free to add other spices like paprika, garlic, turmeric, chilli powder, etc.
5 minutes later the egg whites should be set but the yolks should still be soft. Scoop everything out of the air fryer and top with avocado/guacamole.
Lentil Oatmeal Bowl
Dairy-free, glute- free, soy-free, vegan.
This is another easy one and leftovers store pretty well in the fridge. Adapted from the beautiful: https://ohsheglows.com
What you’ll need:
⅓ of a cup red lentils
¼ of a cup oatmeal
1 ½ cup of broth
Combine lentils, oats, and broth in a pot. Bring to a low boil and then reduce the heat and simmer uncovered until thickened. Add any herbs and spices you like. You could add tempeh bacon or turkey bacon crumbles as well.
Top with whatever you like! I personally mix in some nutritional yeast, some arugula, and then top with avocado.
White Bean + Avocado Toast
Dairy-free, soy-free, vegan, can be gluten-free.
Avocado toast is so good on it’s own but blending in some white beans gives it a big extra boost of protein.
What you’ll need:
Cooked and cooled white beans
An avocado (you can use just half if you’d prefer)
Greens of your choice
Bread of your choice
Mash up white beans and avocado. Spread it on your toast and top with greens and a drizzle of oil and spices of your choice. You could also add other veggies like a slice of tomato, or a fried egg. I like to make a little tofu scramble and eat it on the side (that would obviously negate the soy free part).
I hope this helps you see that breakfast can be fun and delicious while supporting your health and wellness goals!
~Martine Fleming, M.A.
by Jen Owen, N.P. | May 5, 2022 | Food Medicine, Integrative Medicine
Insulin resistance is what I call the “pre pre-diabetes” because it’s actually happening in the body before your blood glucose is ever abnormal and you get the diagnosis of pre-diabetes.
Watch the video now or read on….
#1: What are the symptoms?
Some people don’t have any symptoms at all when they have insulin resistance, but most people feel really tired. They feel like they are dragging around, so they go in to see their medical provider. Blood tests otfen show that “nothing is wrong with them”.
Some people have weight gain, especially around the abdomen. Many “crash” after they eat certain foods and they don’t understand why.
For some people insulin resistance affects their mood. It can cause a low level of depression or that feeling of feeling very “hangry”.
#2: What actually is Insulin Resistance?
I could go into a deep physiology lesson about this. The basic thing I want you to know is that insulin is what lets your blood sugar (your glucose) into your cells to give them the energy to do what they need to do. When you have insulin resistance the blood sugar is not getting in, and so your cells don’t have that fuel that they need.
#3: How do you fix it?
I recommend getting your insulin levels checked—it’s part of the routine labs I do here at my clinic in Portland. If you do get it checked, you want to make sure your insulin level is under 5. Slightly over 5 is going to be mild insulin resistance, and the higher it goes, the more insulin resistance you have—meaning the less glucose is getting into your cells
The most important thing you can do to help this process is eating protein. You want to eat protein every few hours throughout the day, eat a high protein breakfast, and always have protein at your meals and with any carbs that you eat.
By doing that, you’re going to stabilize your blood sugar level in your blood and you’re going to reduce that insulin resistance for those cells.
That’s it! It’s actually simple.
Why we’re not checking it in the regular, conventional blood testing, I’m not sure, since insulin resistance is happening in your body well before your blood glucose levels are ever elevagted. We would be heading off a lot of pre-diabetes if people knew about this ahead of time. It would also be saving you hours and hours of being tired and not feeling like yourself because this is happening in your body.
If you’re in Portland, I’d love to see you at my clinic—we can work through this. And if not I hope you’ll see your own provider and have this checked! Or just make sure you’re eating protein throughout the day and with meals to keep that blood sugar stabilized and reduce your risk of insulin resistance, reducing your risk of pre-diabetes and diabetes down the road.
by Jen Owen, N.P. | Jul 9, 2021 | Food Medicine, Mind-Body Medicine
This blog is about returning to the basics.
I’m not sure what it is about our society. We seem to have an “all-or-nothing” approach to health. If we’re not greatly restricting food, exercising in a bootcamp style, or majorly pushing our limits, we don’t really do anything.
I see this time and time again. People show up to my clinic exhausted. When I ask about their health habits, they tell me they try to do those things I mentioned above, but haven’t been able to maintain them.
Well, of course they can’t, and I couldn’t either.
When people focus on hard core health changes and can’t keep with it, they feel like they failed and then they forget to do the very basics to keep their bodies and minds well.
So, today as you read this blog, I want you to do a check-in about each area of life I discuss.
How are you doing in each category?
If any of the basic categories aren’t being fulfilled, start there.
If you’re doing all of these things every day, then come in for an appointment and we’ll dive into what else might be going on.
Water
I know this probably sounds very basic and yet, we all need water to survive. The old adage of drinking 8 glasses of water each day still works pretty well for most people. Yet, when I ask my patients how much water they’re drinking every day, the response is often 2-4 glasses.
And, remember that caffeinated drinks and alcohol are actually dehydrating, so you need extra water if you drink those.
Check-in: Track how much water you drink today and increase if needed.
Tip: Use an opaque water bottle or mason jar for your daily water so you can literally see how much you’re drinking.
Air
Another basic one, I know. During the vitals signs assessment, I check the oxygen saturation of my patients. The level that should be 100% (yes, even with a mask on). Most people come in around 95-97%.
This means that they are likely shallow breathing a good portion of the time.
When we’re running around in fight-or-flight all the time, we don’t take enough deep breaths, so we don’t circulate adequate oxygen to all of our parts. This leaves us feeling even more tired and when our brains don’t get enough oxygen, we can feel light-headed or experience foggy-thinking.
Check-in: Are you getting enough deep breaths in throughout the day?
Tip: Check out this blog and Stop and Breathe.
Food
Another interesting societal norm is that when we want to change our eating patterns, we almost always start with taking things away.
I actually recommend adding things in first. And, I start with the most obvious foods: fruits and vegetables.
Fruits and vegetables are full of the antioxidants our bodies require for proper cellular function and detoxification.
Check-in: Are you eating every color of vegetable/fruit every day?
Tip: Start first by eating the “Rainbow Diet”. Read more about that here.
Sleep
I know you know sleep is important for every cell and system in your body. Yet, it’s often one of the least valued components of flourishing health.
Many people stay up too late or don’t take advantage of times when they can sleep in.
I work with a lot of parents of small children who tell me that after the kids go to bed is the only time they have alone together. I get this. Time alone together is important. And, is there another time you could work out to be alone together? Maybe you could trade with another couple and each take each other’s kids once a week? Get creative.
Sleep truly needs to be at the top of the priority list.
Check-in: How much good quality sleep are you getting every night?
Tips: Sleep when your kids sleep. Go to bed early and relax with a good book if you don’t feel tired yet. Practice good sleep hygiene (Google this term if you don’t know what this is.)
If you still can’t sleep, come in for an appointment and we’ll get this sorted.
Next steps:
Once these four basics of human body function are met, you can start looking into body movement, love, joy, etc.
Those are basic human needs as well, yet when we’re not breathing, drinking water, eating foods that nourish us, or sleeping, not much else can fall into place.
At my clinic, I focus on treating the whole person and my practice has gotten more and more simple over the years. I’ve realized that more than anything people need help with life.
They usually don’t need complicated protocols or extensive health plans. They need help finding balance, peace, and more FUN!
Please stop beating yourself up with restrictive diets and rigorous exercise regimens.
Start with the basics and you’ll be amazed at how much small shifts in your daily life can bring about big changes.
Ready to dive deeper into the basics?
My online program, Health Transfomations is for you!
Work at your own pace on your own time and transform your life in 8 weeks.
Join the program and get started now!
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