Stevia: Friend or Foe?

sugar free, healthy, low calorie, stevia, anchorage nutritionist, lose weight, weight loss, anchorage dietician,

Given the massive consumption of sugar around the world, and the now-not-debatable link with obesity, diabetes, renal failure of metabolic syndrome, and probably cancer, we still search for the Holy Grail of sweeteners: is there some sweet treat that doesn’t cause inflammation and weight gain like cane or corn sugar? Or that creates that delight without being so high calorie while providing no nutritional value? Is stevia the answer? Heck, we’ve even assumed man’s best friend needs sweet treats and begun imposing feeding them “low calorie” “diet” grain-based (that say “no empty calories”) pet foods sweetened with stevia. A type of plant native to Central and South America, Stevia … Continue reading

Achieving Optimal Health & Balance

Health balance: the art of listening to your body You get an idea. Immediately your brain sends coordination messages to your body. Each organ, muscle, joint… complies and then just as lightning fast, sends back its acknowledgement of “all done, sir.” This is a perfect world, body in health & balance. But what about those non-compliant answers like “we’re not getting up yet” or “oops, I missed”; or status messages like “ouch! that smarts!” (a consequence of noncompliance) or “Captain, she can’t take much more” or “could I get a little more oxygen?” or “I’m thirsty.” We don’t think about … Continue reading

Why We Get Fat (part 2)

www.successhealthcoach.com = successful weight loss

Debunking the “eat less / move more” weight loss program. In Why We Get Fat (part 1) I explained the radical change in mainstream nutrition advice starting late 1970’s: we were told to cut the fat out, eat fat-free, low-fat… you know “eat healthy.” The food industry complied. We got an infinite number of new “Heart Healthy”, Low-Fat, No-Fat, “diet” and more high carbohydrate convenience products than we could possibly need—always in a hurry these were supposed to be healthier for us, right? Carbohydrates were placed on the bottom of the food pyramid; the fundamental base of good nutrition. Grains … Continue reading

Why We Get Fat (part 1)

Exactly; why do we get fat? We all want to do the right thing, feel and look great, have more energy… We have listened to our doctor who says we have to lose weight for our heart, blood pressure, cholesterol, diabetes… Nothing’s working; what do we do? Weight loss: what are we missing? Most of us at one time or another have tried calorie-counting, portion control, and despite all we did to deprive and control, we’ve felt the humiliation and self-invalidation of failing… The obesity epidemic: Why? A piece of history: Between 1980 and 2000, obesity rates doubled in the … Continue reading

Lose Weight: Turn Off the Fat Switch

http://successhealthcoach.com

Lose weight: Weight Loss Remodernized Ancient nutritional theory says getting fat is simply a matter of too many calories and not enough exercise; that to lose weight we have to use willpower, cut calories / exercise more—any calories will do, just eat less of them. What if it’s wrong? If you are among the millions who’ve tried to lose weight by counting calories or low calorie diets know this: obesity does not result from gluttony and idleness, but rather because we have activated a “fat switch” similar to that used by animals in the wild to increase fat stores: it … Continue reading

Have a Fulfilling New Year

garlic roast beef with wild mushroom sauce

[cryout-pullquote align=”left” textalign=”center” width=”33%”]“I had done’all the right things’ for so long… so it was totally shocking to learn that my low-fat, high-carb diet was behind my weight gain and low energy.” –DJ “I’m really grateful for the friendly know-how and support making the changes I needed to make. I’m dancing with joy!” –PF “This site is a wealth of just great, real whole food ideas! Thank you” –AM[/cryout-pullquote] Greetings friends of health! I hope you enjoy this special post and wishes for the coming year. Everyone can have incredible wins like these—no matter their unique situation. Many, many people are … Continue reading

7 Nutrition Truths for Optimal Health.

corn sugar and the obesity epidemic

Simple nutrition steps–Big health returns. One of my clients recently asked me to help improve her family’s health through diet—she talked about getting off the processed and starchy by home-cooking whole-grain pasta with Alfredo. OK, so what exactly is a healthy diet? Well, the nutrition truth basics are pretty simple: Everyone needs a mix of proteins, fats, and some (but not too much) carbohydrates from the right sources. We need enough vitamins and minerals. We need nourishing activities in our lives. But there are many long-held nutrition myths. Crowding out the false data and replacing it with nutrition truths may not … Continue reading

Food Sensitivity? Food Allergy? Navigating the Adventure.

Coconut Milk Yogurt

Oh, the adventures of allergies and food sensitivities! Finding you have food sensitivities and allergies can be a relief. After all, now you know what has been causing your headaches, diarrhea, bloating, gas (sorry), fatigue, yeast infections, skin rashes… very life-impacting symptoms! On the other hand, the process of finding out how to live, now that you know the cause of the problem, can be totally overwhelming. You probably just got told that you can never eat your favorite foods again, will have to learn how to cook all over… almost impossible, right? Hold on: Fueled by research, born of … Continue reading

My mother has it, me… Genetic? or Familial

dad pushing son at sunset

We love to blame our genes, but do they control us as much as we are told? Probably not. Truly, we are all individual and to a large extent our physical individualities are influenced by our genes but, with rare exception, you can either be in control or be controlled. And those rare exceptions are far fewer than you think. About 1 person in 700-100 has a genetic alteration such as Downs, 1 in 5000 in the US a point mutation like sickle cell anemia, and while there are many common names on the Wikipedia list of “genetic disorders“; household names like … Continue reading

Sleep Nutrition: Sleep Soundly vs Toss and Turn

Your vital guide to sleep nutrition foods I can’t sleep; I can’t lose weight (and their cousins: I’m low energy, cranky, full of anxiety…) are probably the most common complaints I hear as a Life Coach. Small business owners who want to make their dreams come true, nutritional clients; you all mention sleep problems as a top item on your list, second to relationships and often before weight. Sleep nutrition is key. Sleeping well is key to moods/energy, which are key to relationships… but weight loss? Yes, that too according to well-thought-out study by Plamen Penev, MD, PhD, assistant professor of medicine at the … Continue reading

  • Tried "Everything"?
    Still have... Unwanted weight? Irregular digestion? Imbalanced hormones? Low energy?

    Alaska's only Master in Human Nutrition &
    Functional Medicine
    who is also a Master in
    Nutrition Response Testing®

    CALL 907-222-1824
    Spend 90 minutes with me just $59

    Marie Cecchini Sternquist, MS CHHC

    (regularly $145, by appointment please)