Nutrient Density Archives

podcast graphic with photos of host and guest

Episode 223: Epinutrients with Dr. Kara Fitzgerald

We are more than our genes! Epigenetics is a field of science that studies what influences our genetic expression. These are the things that turn our genes on and off. Our body is dynamic and it’s changing all the time in response to our environment and daily choices. Epinutrients are the nutritional compounds that alter genetic expression in a positive direction. My guest, Dr. Kara Fitzgerald, is a naturopathic doctor and clinical researcher, whose research focuses on the epigenetics of diet and lifestyle. Her book, Younger You, is a deep dive into the science of Epinutrients.

Episode 218: Anti-Inflammatory Foods with VJ Hamilton

When it comes to autoimmune disease, inflammation plays a big role. The higher our inflammation, the higher our symptoms and disease activity. Doctors know this, which is why bloodwork for autoimmune patients usually includes inflammation markers. When it comes to self-care and living well with autoimmune disease, learning how to reduce our inflammation naturally can be very helpful, and our food choices are a big part of that. Which foods have the greatest anti-inflammatory properties? That’s the focus of our discussion today. My guest is VJ Hamilton. She’s a nutritionist who has also studied immunology, and she has autoimmune disease herself. Her specialty is helping people with autoimmune disease thrive.

Episode 208: Nutrient Deficiencies & Healing Diets with Dr. Sarah Ballantyne

When we develop autoimmune disease, our body becomes more sensitive and that often includes food sensitivity. Many of us turn to healing diets in an effort to eliminate inflammatory foods and embrace the foods that support healing instead. One risk, however, is paying too much attention to the foods we remove and not enough to the foods we add. Another risk is sticking to a dietary template without personalizing it for our body’s unique needs. There are lots of healing diets out there. We often talk about the Paleo Autoimmune Protocol and Wahls Protocol on this podcast. But other diets you may be familiar with include the Specific Carbohydrate Diet or GAPS Diet, the Low-FODMAP diet, a vegetarian or vegan diet, a ketogenic diet, or a carnivore diet. Today, we discuss which nutrient deficiencies are most common on which healing diets, and how we can make sure we’re getting the nutrition we need. My guest is Dr. Sarah Ballantyne. She’s a best-selling author, speaker, educator, and former research scientist, fascinated with the healing power of food.

10 Nutrient-Dense Fruit and Vegetable Scraps We Should Be Eating Instead of Throwing Away

A key component of a healing diet is nutrient-density and diversity. In the paleo AIP community, the list of foods to avoid often gets the most attention. But simultaneously, we need to expand the list of nourishing foods that we eat. One great way to do that is to look at the produce in our kitchens and see which edible parts we’re throwing away. Often, they are the most nutritious!

Episode 170: Gut Health Superfoods with Dr. Sarah Ballantyne

Gut health and autoimmune health are intimately connected. So, focusing on foods that promote gut health makes sense. What qualifies as a gut health superfood? How can we incorporate more of these foods into our diet? Can a healthy food for one person be unhealthy for someone else? How do we determine the best “superfoods” for us? My guest is Dr. Sarah Ballantyne, bestselling author and leader in the paleo autoimmune community. She’s spent the last six years deeply researching gut health and shares her findings with us today.

Eat the Rainbow on the Paleo Autoimmune Protocol

Fuel your body for health on the Paleo AIP! The colors of fruits and vegetables aren’t just beautiful. Each color provides unique nutrients for your body: red, orange, yellow, green, purple, blue, and white. Here’s a detailed produce list for each color, along with the health benefits they provide.

Episode 130: Long-Term Healing Diets

This episode marks the 5-year anniversary of this podcast! When I was thinking about how I wanted to celebrate, I decided to invite 2 friends onto the show who have been following a healing diet for 5 years or more. But that doesn’t mean our diet today looks the same as it did on day 1 of this journey. We’ve personalized it over the years, learning what does and doesn’t work for our unique bodies. We’ve had setbacks and recoveries, and we’ve learned to navigate our bodies’ changing needs.

Episode 115: Easy AIP with Mickey Trescott

This episode is all about making the paleo autoimmune protocol easier to follow. We share our best tips for easy breakfasts, easy lunches, easy dinners, easy snacks, easy sleep, and easy stress management. My guest, Mickey Trescott, is one of the women behind the Autoimmune Wellness blog and podcast, the author of three AIP cookbooks, and a pioneer in the paleo AIP community.

Episode 79: Nutrient Density with Dr. Sarah Ballantyne

What does it mean to be a nutrient seeker? Sometimes when we’re on a healing diet, we focus so much on the foods we avoid, that we forget to pay attention to the foods we’re choosing to eat. While it is essential to avoid inflammatory foods, we also need to provide our bodies with the deep nutrition they need to heal. A steady diet of chicken breasts, broccoli, and paleo AIP desserts isn’t going to get us there. So, which foods give us the biggest bang for our nutritional buck? What do our meals and menu look like when we are truly eating for health? That’s what this podcast is all about.

10 Superfoods for Autoimmune Health

Giving up processed foods and following a real-food paleo diet goes a long way to feeding our bodies for health. But we can do even more! When we choose foods that are nutrient-dense, anti-inflammatory, detoxifying, immune system regulating, and supportive of digestion at the same time, we are truly embracing food as medicine. Thankfully, when it comes to food, there are many excellent choices. Here are some of my favorites. How many of these do you eat?

Episode 60: Transitioning from Vegetarian to Paleo

Many people come to the paleo community after years of veganism or vegetarianism. The reason is usually a health crisis, which can be shocking after eating a diet you thought was healthy for years. Some people embrace meat again without difficulty, but others struggle with ethical concerns, taste and texture issues, and even a loss of identity. In this podcast, I interview Registered Dietitian Diana Rodgers on the nutritional difference between these diets, and how to be an Ethical Omnivore. I also interview nutritionist Kinsey Jackson on her personal journey transitioning from vegetarian to paleo. It was a difficult change for her, but led to dramatic improvements in her autoimmune health.

A-Z Vegetable Recipe Roundup (Wahls + Paleo AIP)

Are you seeing some new veggies at the farmers market and wondering how to cook them? Are you stuck in a rut of eating the same ones all the time and feel ready to branch out? Vegetables are the foundation of the Paleo AIP Food Pyramid for a reason. They help our bodies detoxify, support a healthy microbiome, and contain phytonutrients you can’t find elsewhere. That’s why Dr. Terry Wahls recommends 6-9 cups daily, and Dr. Sarah Ballantyne recommends 8+ cups daily. Paleo may be famous for its meat, but most of us eat #morevegetablesthanavegetarian. Some people are overwhelmed when they hear those numbers. If that’s you, take a deep breath. I’m here to help!

AIP Food Pyramid

We’ve all seen the USDA food pyramid, and we know that’s a recipe for poor health. Are you curious what an AIP food pyramid looks like? What foods make up the foundation? Which ones are at the top and reserved for special occasions? When it comes to the paleo autoimmune protocol, we focus a lot on what we can’t eat. But the key to being happy on a healing diet is knowing what we CAN eat, and realizing that we can eat delicious, satiating food every single day, and heal at the same time.

Are You Eating Enough Food to Heal Your Body?

When I first discovered the connection between food intolerance and rheumatoid arthritis pain, I went through a period of being afraid every time I sat down to eat. Finding the paleo diet was a gift, because it gave me a template of safe foods to enjoy. When I hit a healing plateau, I turned to the autoimmune protocol and learned that dairy and nightshades were inflammation triggers for me. Some people find they need to restrict further to feel their best, reducing their intake of FODMAPs or oxalates, for example. Are you seeing the pattern? In our journeys to heal, the first thing we do is eliminate foods that are the problem. The question is, are we also focusing on the foods that are the solution?

Celebrating Nutrient Density: Paleo AIP Organ Meat Recipe Roundup

Organ meats are 10-100 times more nutritious than other meats, which is why they’re so highly recommended on the Paleo Autoimmune Protocol. That said, I know it’s hard for beginners. You have lots of questions about toxins and concerns about taste. I answer your questions in this article, and also give you links to 30 AIP-friendly recipes! Give one a try this week.

Wahls Protocol Book Review & Author Interview

Dr. Terry Wahls is the amazing woman who reversed her MS, moving from a wheelchair to a bicycle, and developed a protocol to help others reverse autoimmune disease as well. Today’s post is a detailed review of her new book, an interview with Terry herself, and a chance for you to win a kindle copy of The Wahls Protocol.

Top 5 Mistakes People Make on the Paleo Autoimmune Protocol

Have you been doing the paleo autoimmune protocol for a while, without seeing the results you want? In this post, I share 5 of the most common mistakes people make on this journey. Let’s see if any of these apply to you.

Does Healthy Sustainable Seafood Exist?

It’s easy to get lost, navigating the waters of healthy, sustainable seafood. Between overfishing, pollution, toxicity concerns, and food fraud, I almost stopped eating fish altogether. But they are rich in omega 3 fatty acids, which are essential to our health. So, I spent hours researching the question, “Does Healthy Sustainable Seafood Exist?” The answer is “Yes” but it can be hard to find. Check out this blog post to learn everything you need to know about this important part of our diet.

The Most Nutrient-Dense Fruits & Vegetables

Want to know which onion has 120 times more antioxidants than the rest? Which fruit has 10 times more nutrition than most vegetables? Which vegetables lose half their nutrition within 2 days of picking and how to slow that process down? Or how to make sure you are getting the medicinal benefit of garlic when you eat it? Here are 20 tips to make your next grocery shopping trip the most nutritious yet.

Wahls Veggie Protocol Q&A

Dr. Terry Wahls has multiple sclerosis and went from a wheelchair to a bicycle with the help of a nutrient-dense paleo diet. She recommends we each eat 6-9 cups vegetables daily. Why are veggies so important? Do we eat them cooked or raw? Are some vegetables more nutritious than others? What if our appetite is smaller than that? Find the answers to these questions and more in this informative post.

Would the Real Olive Oil Please Stand Up?

When you start eating for your health, you begin to watch labels closely. But what happens when the labels aren’t telling the truth? Olive oil fraud has become so rampant that an entire book has been written about it. In this article, I share which brands passed and failed authenticity testing, dispel some commonly believed myths about olive oil, and teach you how to find the real thing.