Episodes
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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 with mental health issues.
Amelia Sherry is a New York-based dietitian with a master’s in public health who counsels women and families. She is founder of the NourshHer, a site providing content that helps protect girls from disordered eating. Sherry compiles her best tips and advice in her new book, Diet Proof Your Daughter.
We have a candid talk about her new book, ways to help girls, and what drives her to help parents raise girls to have a healthy relationship with food.
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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 slam dunk.
So in this podcast episode I review all the details of my latest post about intermittent fasting.
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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, type 1 diabetic, and certified instructor of the Oxygen Advantage. He was astounded to discover how targeted breathing exercises not only enhanced his energy levels but his diabetes management.
This led to the development of his site The Breathing Diabetic, which showcases his three key breathing principles along with supportive research.
In episode 38 of the Healthy Family Podcast, I sit down with Nick to find all that he has learned and get the details on his principles to maximize breathing.
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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 in ways that can survive the complexity and unpredictability of the real world.
Her new book, The Joy Choice: How to Finally Achieve Lasting Changes in Eating and Exercise, helps people make the mindset change they need to build and maintain healthy behaviors.
“The way we’ve been taught to approach dietary change and exercise is you do it right or you don’t do it at all,” she said during our interview. And this sets us up for failure because life always has other plans.
Her process is based on the emerging research on executive function along with decades of research showing what really motivates us to engage in healthy behaviors.
It’s about all those “choice points” and learning to make the perfect, imperfect decision that allows you do something instead of nothing. And most importantly, keep you moving forward instead of feeling defeated.
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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, incontinence, and more.
In the world of social media, the work of Shirley Weir caught my eye. I couldn’t help but notice how she encouraged women to moisturize their vaginas. She brings midlife women’s issues like vaginal health front and center because doesn't want women to suffer needlessly.
“77 percent of women have questions about their health,” she said. “And 80% of women tell me they don’t have anyone to talk to about these questions pertaining to perimenopause, menopause, and post-menopause. So, there’s a lot of work to do.”
Shirley is the founder of Menopause Chicks, a private community for women going through perimenopause and menopause. Menopause Chicks provides tips and guidance to women with the aim to crack open the conversation around midlife health. She is also the author of Mokita: How to Navigate Perimenopause with Comfort and Ease.
We have a frank conversation about what every woman midlife needs to know about vaginal health along with a few other midlife topics sprinkled in.
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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 intuitive eating coach. After her own experience with early perimenopause, she learned about intuitive eating and became well-versed in midlife health. Soon she realized this was how she wanted to help women.
Jenn has a large presence on Instagram, runs online classes for women, and recently started up The Midlife Feast, a podcast for women hungry for more.
We talk about both her personal and professional experience with midlife, what to expect at perimenopause, nutrition, common body changes and challenges, and how intuitive eating fits in it all.
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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 most recent post: “Why Isn’t Anyone Talking About the Nutrition Crisis the Pandemic Unmasked.”
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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 the latest research, only 10% of people who eat fish twice a week have optimal omega-3 levels.
Don’t miss this podcast to help ensure that you and your family are getting the omega-3 fatty acids they need.
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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.
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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 developer, and nutrition consultant specializing in nutrition communications. She is the author of several books including Expect the Best: Your Guide to Healthy Eating Before, During and After Pregnancy.
Hillary is the Director for Nutrition Counseling for the Domar Center for Mind/Body Health in Waltham, MA, where she specializes in nutrition and women’s health, and diabetes prevention. She is the author of two other books including The Prediabetes Diet Plan: How to Reverse Prediabetes and Prevent Diabetes through Healthy Eating and Exercise
This was timely as I’m currently in the process of researching nutrition for my book for women in midlife. We sat down to talk about nutrition during menopause and why it matters.
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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 demanding attention whether we women like it or not.
To help me find answers, I interviewed Hillary McBride who holds a Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology from the University of British Columbia, as well as a Master of Arts in Counseling Psychology. She works as a therapist and has advanced training in trauma, eating disorders, body image, and marriage and relationship therapy. She is the author of Mothers, Daughters and Body image, Embodiment and Eating Disorders, and the upcoming book This is My Body.
We talk about her book, the many facets of body image, and what this all means at midlife.
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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 creator of the Galloway Run-Walk-Run Program and for 33 years he has coached over ½ million runners and answers an average of 100 emails a day.
Since the Coronavirus pandemic, I’ve seen many people and families taking walks. Of course, we all keep from each other but many of us relish the time spent outside. And this got me thinking about how this is the perfect time for people to try running with a much gentler and enjoyable strategy.
As people get older, they often think they can no longer run or that running is bad for them. In episode 29 of The Healthy Family Podcast, Jeff Galloway explains how his Run-Walk-Run program can help people at midlife and beyond enjoy running without getting injured. It's also a great way for anyone at any age to start running.
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Estrogen plays an important role in a woman’s body. During very 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 weakening bones and increased risk of heart disease.
The problem is that there are many misconceptions and unfounded fears about taking estrogen. Not only that, most doctors are not up on the latest research and have little experience giving hormones like estrogen when it’s needed. To clear up the confusion, we have Dr. Mache Seibel.
Dr. Mache Seibel is an international health expert and leading authority on women’s wellness and menopause. He is author of The Estrogen Fix and The Estrogen Window and founder of The Hot Years: My Menopause Magazine.
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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 books for children including the perennial bestseller, What to Do When You Worry Too Much and more recent, Outsmarting Worry. Dr. Huebner’s newest book, Something Bad Happened provides support for children learning about ‘bad things’ happening in the world.
In this episode, Dr. Huebner explains why anxiety is on the rise, what is really going on inside an anxious child’s brain, and how parents can help support their child in overcoming anxiety.
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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 and Metabolism at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, BC. She has spent her career studying menstrual cycles and the effects of the cycle’s changing estrogen and progesterone hormone levels on women’s health. She is the founder (2002) and Scientific Director of the Centre for Menstrual Cycle and Ovulation Research (CeMCOR). She is coauthor of The Estrogen Errors and author of Estrogen's Storm Season. CeMCOR acknowledges -- and defines -- “very early perimenopause,” symptoms that occur when cycles are regular but hormones begin to shift.
As part of my midlife ongoing series, I wanted to ask Dr. Prior some questions. So in this podcast interview, we talk about the menstrual cycle and health starting at puberty through menopause.
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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 dietitian and creator of the popular blog Real Mom Nutrition, named Best Blog for Parents by Health magazine in 2015. Sally is the author of the new book 101 of the Healthiest Food for Kids. She is also an award-winning reporter and writer specializing in nutrition who currently blogs for Parents magazine and WebMD. Sally shares with us her stories, advice, challenges, and triumphs in the feeding realm. She also outlines best practices for introducing nutritious foods kids which is what her new book is all about.
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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’s in psychology with a focus on child development and another master's in education. She shares what she’s learned (and keeps learning) through Your Parenting Mojo Podcast. It's a reference guide for parents of toddlers and preschoolers based on scientific research and the principles of respectful parenting.
In episode 24 of The Healthy Family Podcast, we tackle how to go about finding credible parenting information. Jen shares what she has learned on her science-based parenting journey.
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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 Snacks to Go and is founding editor of Kitchen Stewardship. This mom of four and prior teacher provides insight on how to overcome common obstacles and quickly see a return on investment.
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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 daughter walk the same painful path. What gives?
Today’s’ show we get right into why this happens. It’s not about helping only girls or only moms, it’s about healing both at the same time. The goal is to end the legacy of body dissatisfaction and food struggle that gets handed down from generation to generation.
Dietitian Karen Diaz shares insight from her experience working at an eating disorder clinic and helping moms and daughters over the last six years. Karen is certified in intuitive eating and uses her Signature Program Break Free to guide women in overcoming dysregulated eating and body image struggles. Her soon-to-be-published book Within is aimed at helping moms and daughters come to peace with their bodies and food so they can build a healthy and happy home.
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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 of this. The way we receive information, move (or don’t), connect with others, grocery shop and eat, and the type of jobs available is completely different. Yet, despite all this change many of us use are left with old, outdated parenting and health practices. I believe there’s a mismatch between the tools we have and the times in which we live -- and this is what makes parenting hard.
The good news is that with the right tools, robust health is more achievable than ever. Today on the Healthy Family Podcast I’m discussing the 5 habits of the healthiest families and how I’ll be addressing each of these in upcoming podcast episodes.
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