Hi there! Thank you for joining me for the Introduction to Clinical Nutrition at the Sylvan School of Botanical Medicine. Here are a few of the resources mentioned in the class, as well as a few bonuses including some of my favorite recipes of late. Please stay in touch by attending one of the next four classes at Sylvan and/or joining me on Pinterest or Twitter. I’d love to hear your thoughts, questions and comments.

Here is a downloadable pdf of the Class 1 – Intro & Overview Handout.

Selected References

• Braz J Med Biol Res. 2011 Oct;44(10):992-9. Epub 2011 Sep 2. A link between sleep loss, glucose metabolism and adipokines.
• Diabetes Metab. 2010 Oct;36 Suppl 3:S50-3. Brain, liver, intestine: a triumvirate to coordinate insulin sensitivity of endogenous glucose production.
• Nested case–control study of night shift work and breast cancer risk among women in the Danish military. Occup Environ Med doi:10.1136/oemed-2011-100240
• Front Physiol. 2011; 2: 94. Brain-Gut-Microbe Communication in Health and Disease.
• Eur J Pharmacol. 2008 Apr 7;583(2-3):174-85. Central effects of stress hormones in health and disease: Understanding the protective and damaging effects of stress and stress mediators.
• World J Gastrointest Pathophysiol.2012 Feb 15;3(1):27-43. Host-microbial interactions and regulation of intestinal epithelial barrier function: From physiology to pathology.
• Till Roenneberg, Karla V. Allebrandt, Martha Merrow, Céline Vetter, Social Jetlag and Obesity. Current Biology, Volume 22, Issue 10, 939-943, 10 May 2012. doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2012.03.038
• Food Nutr Res. 2010; 54: 10.3402/fnr.v54i0.5144. Published online 2010 July 2. doi:  10.3402/fnr.v54i0.5144 Postprandial energy expenditure in whole-food and processed-food meals: implications for daily energy expenditure

Resources & Good Reads

• Cooking oil comparison chart (printable chart; very thorough!)
• Are lower pesticides a good reason to buy organic? (article)
• Wheat Belly – analysis of selected statements in the book (article)
• Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sleep (article; an oldie but a goodie)
• Motivational Interviewing (book)
• EWG’s Good Food on a Tight Budget (guide)
• The Hidden Truths About Calories (article)
• Wild Fermentation and The Art of Fermentation (books)
• How to make your own fermented foods (article)

Suggested Questions for Intake Forms/Initial Visit

In addition to ascertaining what the client eats for b, l, d and snacks (+ beverages), when she eats these meals/snacks, standard questions re: digestion, and so forth – be sure to also ask:

• How often do you prepare meals at home?
• Approximately how many different fruits & vegetables do you eat per week?
• On a scale of 1-10, how healthful and nourishing do you feel your diet is currently?
• Which oil(s) or fat(s) do you use for cooking?
• How many meals do you eat per day? Snacks?
• How many hours of sleep do you get per night?
• Do you wake to an alarm clock? How many days/week?
• Do you feel rested upon waking?
• Approximately how much fluid to you drink per day?
• What junk/treat/snack foods do you eat?
• Where do you purchase groceries?
• Sensitive or allergic to any foods?
• Do you follow or have you ever followed a restrictive or special diet?

Make sure you assess:

–          Are meals eaten regularly?

–          Protein spread throughout day?

–          Meals mostly home-cooked?

–          Quality of food eaten?

–          Stress levels/ambiance at meals, snacks?

–          Fasting time between dinner/snack and breakfast?

–          Signs/sx of gut flora imbalance?

Do you have any resources to suggest? Questions that you find work well either in a consult or on your intake forms? I’d love to hear about them!

A Few of My Favorite Things

In case you are in the market for a few new recipes, here are some of my latest late summer/early fall favorites:

• Lemony Quinoa Salad with Chickpeas & Avocado – fresh, summery salad
• Jerk Turkey (or Chicken) Chili – works great with a rotisserie chicken for a quick(er) meal
• Sweet Potatoes with Warm Black Bean Salad – super quick, filling and tasty vegetarian meal
• Red Curry Lentils – one of my favorite lentil recipes; can easily be made vegan
• Tomato Bulgur Soup with Warm Spices – quick, easy and yummy
• Simple & Creamy Squash Soup – one of the easiest & tastiest soups I’ve made; sub almond milk for a vegan version
• Parmesan Kale Salad with Raisins – my two year old eats this up with gusto; warning – one recipe makes A LOT of salad

“He that takes medicine and neglects diet wastes the skills of the physician.” ~ Chinese proverb

“The Harvard Law states: Under controlled conditions of light, temperature, humidity, and nutrition, the organism will do as it damn well pleases.” – Larry Wall