Girls are having a rough go of it. A recent CDC report found 57% of teen girls felt persistently sad and hopeless in 2021, compared to 36% in 2011. Not only that, but a report last year found girls going to the ER for eating disorders nearly doubled during the pandemic. There's never been a more important time to help support our daughters, both emotionally and physically. Today's guest is full of strategies to help keep our girls out of dieting and body image pitfalls that often go hand in hand...
Feb 23, 2023•1 hr•Ep. 40
We've all seen the article or social media post declaring the "proven" benefits of intermittent fasting. Cellular repair. Improved insulin sensitivity. A longer life with reduced risk of chronic disease. Increased metabolism and fat burning. Because of these strong claims, I've been wanting to do a deep dive on intermittent fasting for years now. So, in preparation for my latest book for midlife women, I finally did it. And it revealed that the benefits of intermittent fasting are anything but a...
Dec 07, 2022•25 min•Ep. 39
Eat well, exercise, and sleep is all we seem to hear about. But there is another important yet underrated factor for health: breathing exercises. Yep, the way we breathe can have a tremendous impact on our health in either direction–especially the duration and quality of sleep. This is vital as we age, making midlife the perfect time to invest in your breathing. My latest podcast guest is sharing his experience and all that he has learned about the benefits of breathing. Nick Heath is a PhD, typ...
Aug 15, 2022•44 min•Ep. 38
Does it really take 66 days to build a healthy habit? Will there be a time we gain enough self-control or willpower to always eat nutritiously and exercise? My podcast guest turns everything we thought we knew about healthy behavior change on its head. Not only that, but she also has the research to support it. And a new book. Michelle Segar, PhD, is an award-winning, NIH-funded researcher at the University of Michigan with almost thirty years studying how to help people adopt healthy behaviors ...
Apr 04, 2022•56 min•Ep. 37
Women talk about lots of topics, but vaginal health isn't typically one of them. Yet midlife is the perfect time to start the conversation because most women will experience vaginal issues. In fact, 60 percent of menopausal women have vaginal symptoms like dryness, and this goes up to 80% post-menopause. But it's not just about some annoying symptoms. Compromised vaginal health has many health implications for women including painful intercourse, poor quality of life, recurrent UTIs, incontinenc...
Feb 21, 2022•47 min•Ep. 36
Intuitive eating is needed more than ever during midlife. That's because it helps redefine a woman's relationship with food in ways that create sustainable change. Whether it's listening to your body, avoiding all or nothing thinking about food, or denouncing diet culture, as my guest says: "it's really something that needs to come together for most women." I found Jenn Salib Huber on Instagram as I started navigating midlife health and nutrition. She's a dietitian, naturopathic doctor, and intu...
Dec 20, 2021•38 min•Ep. 35
Whether people realize it or not, the pandemic has shed a very bright light on nutrition. And this light tells us that an overwhelming number of Americans have comprised nutritional status putting them at higher risk of severe disease from Covid-19. Even more disturbing is that we are doing very little about it. In episode 34 of The Healthy Family Podcast, I provide segments of my interview with Jeffrey B. Blumberg of Tufts University along with behind-the-scenes content on what went into my mos...
Jun 09, 2021•51 min•Ep. 34
According to the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, only 20% of adults and 6% of kids eat fish twice a week. That means many are falling short on the omega-3 fatty acids, DHA and EPA. In episode 33 of The Healthy Family Podcast, Maryann shares why these fatty acids are so important and why she decided to test her levels of omega-3 fatty acids. Many don't know that it's easy to take an omega-3 index test to see if your intake is providing your body with adequate levels of fatty acids. According to...
Apr 19, 2021•43 min•Ep. 33
In episode 32 of The Healthy Family Podcast, host Maryann Jacobsen discusses her recent experience with iron deficiency anemia. This led her to research iron and what she could have done differently. She discovered this all could have been avoided if she simply tracked her ferritin. Yet no doctor every measured this until it was too late. Taken from a detailed post on her blog, this podcast covers everything women need to know about ferritin. And why this simple test is so important....
Feb 05, 2021•35 min•Ep. 32
What happens when two dietitian-friends who are also writers go through menopause together? They write a book, of course. Elizabeth Ward and Hillary Wright are coauthors of the new book The Menopause Diet Plan: A Natural Guide to Managing Hormones, Health, and Happiness. Their book highlights key research regarding nutrition and hormone changes at midlife, their own personal experience, and tasty and nutritious meal plans and recipes. Elizabeth (Liz) is a registered dietitian, writer, recipe dev...
Dec 01, 2020•1 hr 5 min•Ep. 31
A woman's body changes at midlife as does her feelings about her body. Many women become unhappy with these changes while others find them freeing. Either way, how women choose to live in their bodies as they age is important to their health and well-being. Body image is important because it lays the groundwork for both physical and emotional self-care women need at this time. If a woman fights her body, it can be harder to give it what it needs. And bodies speak up a lot during midlife demandin...
Jul 01, 2020•55 min
A couple of years ago when I considered doing my first half marathon in years, I discovered Jeff Galloway's book Running Until Your 100. In it, he advocates for people – especially those 45 years and older – to add walk breaks to their running. When done right, he claims that people of all ages can remain injury-free while obtaining the many benefits of running. Galloway is an Olympian runner and coach that has made it his mission to improve people's quality of life through running. He is the cr...
Apr 15, 2020•1 hr•Ep. 29
Estrogen plays an important role in a woman's body. During v ery early perimenopause, levels fluctuate and can often be higher than normal. But as women approach menopause (about 2 years before their final period) estrogen starts to decline. By two years after the final period, estrogen levels are depleted. This decline in estrogen brings on many symptoms women can feel such as hot flashes, night sweats, mood swings, fatigue, and memory problems. But it also brings symptoms they cannot feel like...
Jan 02, 2020•1 hr 6 min•Ep. 28
Over the last two decades anxiety in children has been on the rise. According to the CDC, 7.1% of children aged 3-17 years (approximately 4.4 million) have been diagnosed with an anxiety disorder. In many ways, the modern world is the perfect storm for anxiety, so it's important parents understand how best to respond to anxious kids. In episode 27 of The Healthy Family Podcast, we have Dawn Huebner, Ph.D., a Clinical Psychologist, and Parent Coach specializing in anxiety. She is the author of 9 ...
Oct 01, 2019•49 min•Ep. 27
When a woman considers her health, she doesn't automatically think about her menstrual cycle. Yet a woman's menstrual cycle can tell a great deal about her health, well being, and what stage of reproduction she in. Understanding one's menstrual cycle helps during puberty, the reproductive years, and perimenopause. As I experienced cycle changes in my forties, I looked around and found the work by Jerilynn Prior. Jerilynn C. Prior BA, MD, FRCPC (former ABIM, ABEM) is a Professor of Endocrinology ...
Aug 22, 2019•1 hr 3 min•Ep. 26
Feeding advice is everywhere. Eat together. Check. Expose children to nutritious foods. Check. Live happily ever after. No way! Here's what no one talks about. Feeding kids is not always fun or easy. And not all kids respond the same way to the same strategies. There is a need to get real about expectations and what it really feels like to feed a family. Not a make-believe family but a real one. On episode 25 of the Healthy Family Podcast, we have on Sally Kuzemchak. She is a registered dietitia...
Jan 31, 2019•50 min•Ep. 25
When a couple is expecting their first child, they're inundated with information. But then that baby turns into a toddler that has tantrums and doesn't like the word "no." And all of a sudden, the well of information dries up. So where do parents turn to for advice? And how do we know what to believe? After all, expert advice is constantly changing and everyone seems to have an opinion. Today's guest, Jen Lumanlan, had these same questions when she started a family. This led her to get a master'...
Nov 27, 2018•58 min•Ep. 24
I think most parents understand the importance of teaching their kids to cook. I believe what gets in the way are "invisible" barriers. And in order to get kids cooking, we need to tackle these barriers head-on. That's why on episode 23 of The Healthy Family Podcast we're spelling out what really gets in the way of getting kids in the kitchen. Our guest Katie Kimball runs the online cooking class Kids Cook Real Food. She is the author of several cookbooks including Better Than a Box and Healthy ...
Oct 19, 2018•43 min•Ep. 23
If there's one theme I've heard repeatedly regarding moms, daughters, food, and body image, it's this: Mom has poor body image and food issues (to varying degrees). Despite this struggle, mom wants to keep her issues from infecting her daughter. She hides this part of herself, hoping her daughter never finds out the truth. She doesn't share her unhappiness with her body, doesn't restrict food at home, and never brings up the subject of weight. Yet despite this cover-up, mom often watches her dau...
Sep 20, 2018•1 hr 9 min•Ep. 22
After a short stint off from podcasting, I'm back. And I'll be talking a lot about what it really takes to create a healthy family. Time off has a way of generating ideas and I had many this summer. But one, in particular, stood out. I got to thinking about how darn hard it is to raise healthy children -- and be truly healthy ourselves -- in today's complicated world. It's mind-boggling how the world has changed in a short period of time. The speed of changing technology is a key driver in all o...
Aug 23, 2018•21 min•Ep. 21
Over 50% of families reporting picky eating problems at home. Not knowing what to do, parents may bribe, force and pressure their child to eat. The connection between parent and child can go south, eating often gets worse, and tension at the table grows. And it's not just children but older teens and adults who struggle with picky eating. One thing is for sure, we all need to know how to respond to picky eating and remove the shame associated with it. Only then can we see real progress. To dig i...
Jun 07, 2018•1 hr 10 min•Ep. 20
You've been there, haven't you? Your child strikes out at a baseball game, bombs a test or messes up at her dance recital and acts like it's the end of the world. It seems in today's world, moving away from the limelight for even a second can stroke fear in kids. The self-esteem movement took our culture by storm in the 1990s. Now experts realize this movement had some serious holes in it. We are finding out that striving to "be our best" 24/7 is not only exhausting but ultimately robs kids and ...
May 06, 2018•37 min•Ep. 19
From the moment we are born food and emotions are intertwined. We get fed milk while being held and enjoy connection at the family table. But as time marches on, food can all too easily be used as a way to distract us from difficult emotions or fill an emotional void. This results in dysregulated eating -- eating too much or too little, and spending way too much time thinking about food and weight. The problem is our quick-fix culture searches for answers by making up food rules, tightly control...
Apr 13, 2018•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 18
When over 18,000 registered dietitians were asked about intuitive eating, they got a majority of the questions right (71 percent). And those who work in weight management reported using nonrestrictive/intuitive eating more often than traditional/restrictive practices. In short, this is the how of eating: Sitting and paying attention during mealtime, honoring feelings of hunger and fullness, and saying goodbye to restrictive rules and diet practices. In Episode 17 of The Healthy Podcast, I detail...
Mar 07, 2018•30 min•Ep. 17
We all have to deal with the stresses of modern life, and so do our kids. We have more choices, distractions, and unknowns than ever before. Stress is a major health issue in the modern world linked to the increased risk of many chronic diseases. It's normal to want to try and find an escape, but this only makes things worse. Mindfulness has become a buzz word when talking about stress and the challenges of modern life. Today's guest helps us understand what mindfulness actually is and how it ca...
Feb 09, 2018•43 min•Ep. 16
We learn a lot about what it takes to be healthy throughout a lifetime. But strangely when it comes to our brain we know very little. We have these complicated machines that are talking to us constantly. And they don't always make life easy. They tell us we can't do this, or that we don't have time for that. That's because the mind's goal isn't to make us happier or more peaceful. It only wants to keep us alive which is why it creates so much darn resistance. Today's' guest is Dr. Shawn Smith au...
Jan 11, 2018•43 min•Ep. 15
We live in a crazy world where food and weight are concerned. On the one hand, we hear about an obesity epidemic that researchers predict will only get worse. On the other hand, making weight the focus only exacerbates the issue. This leaves many parents confused and unsure about what to do. Today's guest Dianne Neumark-Sztainer, Ph.D., MPH, RD, has been studying the formation of eating habits in adolescents and young adults for many years. As principal investigator of Project EAT (Eating and Ac...
Dec 14, 2017•26 min•Ep. 14
Nutrition has been a hot topic for decades now. But over the past several years extreme quests for health have become more commonplace. There are books about people who haven't had sugar for an entire year. Eating regimens that eschew entire food groups are the norm. And more and more people are involved in extreme fitness whether it's boot camps, spending hours at the gym, or running ultra-long distances. As a chiropractor, Dr. Steve Pretence was not only in active pursuit of the perfect diet, ...
Nov 24, 2017•1 hr 13 min•Ep. 13
Most people understand that eating plants are good for health. But knowing this may not be enough to make plant foods a regular and rewarding part of you and your family's life. Today we are talking about the key to eating more plant foods: falling in love with them. During October (vegetarian month), I spoke with Sharon Palmer, The Plant-Powered Dietitian. She shows us what "plant power" is all about and how these amazing foods make life better, more delicious, and healthier. Sharon is a regist...
Oct 26, 2017•53 min•Ep. 12
Many parents plan to have "the talk" with their children about sex and sexual development at some point. In the movies, this is shown as a grand gesture that happens on one magical day (one parent ask the other "did you have the talk with him?"). Today's guest shows us why society has this one all wrong. There isn't one perfect day we realize it's time to set our child aside and enlighten her with information. It's something that should be a natural part of conversations that starts early. After...
Oct 06, 2017•47 min•Ep. 11
