How Metabolic Health Shapes Lifelong Cognitive Vitality
Metabolic Health Series | Issue 10
Of all the long-term consequences of metabolic dysfunction, the one that concerns me most — and that is most underappreciated in mainstream health conversations — is what happens to the brain.
How Chronic Stress Impacts Your Metabolism — and What Restores It
Metabolic Health Series | Issue 09
Most people understand, at least abstractly, that stress affects their health. What they're rarely told is how precisely — how chronic stress raises blood sugar, drives visceral fat, suppresses muscle metabolism, disrupts sleep, and eventually breaks the very system designed to manage it.
This isn't about feeling overwhelmed. It's about physiology. And reframing it that way changes everything — because what is physiological is also addressable. The body that stress has dysregulated is the same body that knows how to come back into balance. It just needs the right conditions.
Teaching Your Body to Burn Fat Again
Metabolic Health Series | Issue 08
Here's a question worth sitting with: when did you last go more than four or five hours without eating and feel completely fine? No energy crash, no brain fog, no urgent craving pulling you toward the nearest snack? For many people, that experience is a distant memory — or has never happened at all.
That inability to go without food comfortably isn't just inconvenient. It's a metabolic signal. It means the body has lost — or never developed — the ability to switch cleanly between fuel sources. And recovering that ability may be one of the most important things you can do for your long-term metabolic health.
This issue is about metabolic flexibility: what it is, why so many of us have lost it, and how healthy fats, ketones, mitochondrial function, and strategic fasting can help restore it.
Metabolic Health Series | Issue 07
Of all the pillars of metabolic health, sleep is the one most routinely sacrificed — and the one whose metabolic consequences are most consistently underestimated. We have cultural permission to under-sleep. We've built a kind of pride around it. And yet the research is unambiguous: inadequate sleep is not a lifestyle inconvenience. It is a direct and measurable metabolic insult.
Exercise Type and Timing as Metabolic Medicine
Metabolic Health Series | Issue 06
Most people think of exercise as the thing you do to burn calories. And if you've ever felt frustrated that all that effort isn't producing the metabolic results you expected, this issue might reframe the whole question.
Exercise is not primarily a calorie-burning tool. It is a signaling system — one that sends precise molecular instructions to muscle, fat, liver, and brain tissue, instructing the body on how to manage fuel, store or burn fat, respond to insulin, and regulate inflammation.
An Evidence-Based Nutrition Framework for Reversing Metabolic Syndrome
Metabolic Health Series | Issue 05
By now you understand the terrain: what metabolic syndrome is, how insulin drives it, why visceral fat accelerates it, and how hormones shape it differently in women in midlife. This issue is where we get practical. Not a diet plan — I'm not interested in prescribing a rigid protocol — but a coherent nutritional framework built on what the research actually supports, and flexible enough to adapt to how you actually live.
Visceral Fat, Inflammation, and the Metabolic Risk Most People Are Missing
Metabolic Health Series | Issue 04
There's a number that most of us have been conditioned to focus on: the one on the scale. It gets checked at the doctor's office, it anchors our sense of whether we're doing well or doing poorly, and it drives more dietary decisions than almost any other metric.
Why Your 40’s Feel Different — and What to Do About It.
Metabolic Health Series | Issue 03 | Women's Health Edition
If you're a woman in your late 30s, 40s, or beyond and something feels metabolically off — weight collecting around your middle despite eating the way you always have, energy that's less reliable, sleep that's suddenly fragile, a body that seems to have stopped following its own rules — I want you to know something first: you're not imagining it. And it's not a willpower problem.
Metabolic Health Series | Issue 02
Last week I wrote in Issue 1 of my Summer Metabolic Health Series, that insulin resistance is at the center of metabolic syndrome. But knowing that insulin resistance exists and understanding how it happens — how a normal, healthy metabolic system gradually loses its footing — are two different things.
This issue is about the how. Specifically, about what in our modern diet is driving this crisis, why certain foods are metabolically far more damaging than others, and what the research actually says about reversing course.
What Metabolic Syndrome Is, Why It's Affecting Nearly 1 in 3 Americans, and What You Can Do About It
Metabolic Health Series | Issue 01
I want to start this series with something that genuinely surprised me when I first dug into the research: more than one-third of American adults currently meet the criteria for metabolic syndrome. Most of them have no idea. Their labs came back "normal." Their doctor didn't flag anything. They just feel a little tired, a little heavier than they used to be, a little off.
That gap — between what's happening metabolically and what gets named and addressed — is exactly why I wanted to write this series. So let's start at the beginning.
Last week, I became a certified teacher/facilitator of the Non-Linear Movement Method® (NLMM), a somatic practice developed by Michaela Boehm. NLMM is exactly what it sounds like, and also nothing like you'd expect: it's an invitation to slow down, turn your attention inward, and let the body move the way it actually wants to — not the way you've been told it should.
Just about every day in my work with clients, digestive distress comes up—ranging from mild bloating and discomfort to chronic constipation and Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD), including Ulcerative colitis and Crohn's. Digestion truly is the foundation for health. If we’re not properly breaking down our food—or if there's a disruption anywhere along our long and complex digestive tract—then the essential nutrients we need aren’t getting into our cells, where they fuel our health and vitality.
Lately, I’ve been hearing from more and more women who believe they’re on Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) but are actually taking birth control pills (BCPs). While both contain hormones, they serve very different purposes and are not interchangeable.
Inositol, a powerful supplement for improving insulin sensitivity, hormone regulation, blood sugar balance, and much more.
I don't know about you, but the switch between Standard Time and Daylight Saving Time (which about a third of the world observes, notably North America + Europe) can really mess with me! And, it turns out that shifting the clocks twice a year can actually have a few pretty negative effects. For one, it can mess with your sleep schedule, which leads to lower heart rate variability (HRV)—basically, your body’s ability to handle stress. And, it can make you feel more stressed, cranky, and less alert..... and I find my energy really tanks for about a week. Here are a few things you might like to know with the time change.
We've all heard about the importance of calcium for building strong bones, but did you know that the synergistic partnership of vitamin D3 and vitamin K2 plays a pivotal role in ensuring that calcium gets to the right places—like your bones—and stays out of places it shouldn't, like your arteries?
Here’s something fascinating: A 2015 study—although small and focused on older women—showed that fish oil may also boost resting metabolic rate (RMR) and improve body composition. This could be especially beneficial for post-menopausal women!
Over the past few decades, the Standard American Diet (SAD) has seen an explosion in processed food consumption—many of which are rich in omega-6 fatty acids. This shift has disrupted the natural balance between omega-6 and omega-3 fatty acids, leading to an unhealthy ratio that can contribute to chronic inflammation and a range of health problems.
Collagen is a protein that plays a vital role in the health and function of our connective tissues, making up about 1/3 of the protein in the human body. Its primary function is to provide structural support for tissues throughout the body.
Creatine's role in brain health is an emerging area of research, and its potential cognitive benefits are gaining attention….and it’s good for your bones too!
As the new year kicks into full gear, many of us are still focused on our resolutions and intentions to improve health and well-being. Chances are, you've been bombarded with promotions for gym memberships, coaching programs, and supplements you must add to your routine to help you crush your fitness goals.
For many of us, the start of a new year is a time to reflect on the past, set new intentions, and embrace opportunities for growth. It's a natural moment to focus on health—whether it's physical, mental, emotional, or spiritual.
In my work with clients, the trickiest time for maintaining our nutrition + lifestyle standards is Halloween through the New Year. It IS possible to enjoy the warmth of family and friends getting together to celebrate the holidays, AND also stay aligned with our health goals.
The protein leverage hypothesis originally proposed by nutrition researchers in the early 2000's, suggests the body has a biological drive to consume a certain amount of protein. When the body does not get enough protein, hunger and food intake increase in an attempt to meet its protein requirement.
Protein is often considered the building block of life. It’s crucial for muscle growth, repair, and overall body function. But recent research is shedding light on how essential it is for preserving muscle mass, managing metabolism, and supporting healthy aging.
When most people think of protein, they immediately picture muscles. While it's true that protein plays a critical role in muscle growth and repair, that’s just the beginning. Protein is essential for nearly every function in your body, for the structure, metabolic function, and regulation of all tissues and organs, including muscle.
Did you know that for those 65 and older, falls and related fractures are the leading cause of accidental deaths? Dr. Peter Attia, a renowned physician and longevity researcher, highlights a staggering fact: “Up to one-third of people over 65 who fracture their hip are dead within a year.” Let that sink in.
Intermittent Fasting (IF) is a diet trend where you have an eating window of 6-8 hours and the remaining 16-18 hours in a day, you are fasting. Research was initially done on sedentary and obese men and women who did not exercise. For men, IF does have some significant benefits: improved insulin sensitivity, reduced LDL + triglycerides, decreased oxidative stress, enhanced verbal memory/performance, and it's easier for men to get into a Para-sympathetic nervous state, or a relaxed state=not stressed.
I recently received my Certificate of Completion in Menopause 2.0 from Dr. Stacy Sims - and I've got so much to share with you! Dr. Sims is a Stanford PhD, a forward-thinking international exercise physiologist and nutrition scientist aiming to revolutionize exercise nutrition and performance for women.
Happy Fall!
It's been a full summer of taking time and space to reconnect with dear friends in far places, rejuvenate and celebrate life and living. Spending time at the beach, working on overcoming my fear of swimming in the great Pacific ocean, it's been exhilarating!