However, traveling across multiple time zones, which I have done regularly for all of my adult life, having lived abroad for over thirty years, always reminds me that this convenient and efficient mode of travel is not natural, it goes against the design of my body, and therefore it puts stress on my body.

We call it jet lag.

Think about it: we enclose ourselves in a pressurized cabin (reduced oxygen), we sit in a cramped position for hours at a time (I fly economy!), we are susceptible to dehydration due to drier airplane air, we endure continous noise and vibration, we are exposed to higher levels of radiation, and we completely disrupt our innate body clock, dysregulating our sleep, digestion, and more.

That’s a lot of stress, even if we are anticipating a wonderful vacation on the other end of the trip. No wonder we are lagging!

I am presently on the other side of the world and as I have now developed some ways of making these trips easier on my body, I share some of those tips with you.

My husband and I jumped ahead ten time zones, and while we didn’t eliminate jet lag completely, I think we mitigated it pretty well. I had only one night of not-enough-sleep. (The second night, I woke at 2am after four hours of sleep, and never went back to sleep.)

Here are my jet-travel hacks:

Plan a Sleep Schedule for Your Flight(s)

We had three flights. The first, a domestic flight, happened during the day. Our first and longest internation flight took place in “our”evening and it was daytime when we arrived overseas. We did what we could to sleep on that flight. Not perfect, for sure, but we slept a little. Our third flight was an afternoon/evening flight and we did what we could to stay awake. For me that was binging on downloaded YouTube videos and a little reading. We slept soundly from 2am-9am in our new location.

This doesn’t always work as smoothly as presented here, but it was our best intentional effort to get into a new sleeping rhythm as soon as possible.

Wear Compression Socks and Move Around

I don’t love wearing long socks in the summer-time, but I will try most things to reduce the stress on my body while traveling. Compression socks support circulation, one of the body systems that is stressed when you fly.

I know getting movement isn’t easy in such a confined space, especially if you are in a middle or window seat and your seat-mate is sleeping! If you can’t easily get out of your seat, you can do some simple leg lifts, ankle circles, toe points, etc.

Hydrate!

Staying properly hydrated takes intention during the best of circumstances, however flying does not provide support and encouragement for hydration!

Fill up a water bottle before boarding the plane. Add some electrolytes or at least a few pinches of a good mineral salt (Redmonds Real Salt, or Baja Gold for example).

Take a couple herbal tea bags and and ask the flight attendent for hot water (I travel with a stainless steel mug).

Request soda water when the drink cart comes around.

Minimize or eliminate caffiene, which is dehydrating.

Don’t drink alcohol, which is also dehydrating and also will not help you to regulate your body clock.

Don’t Eat the Airplane Food

Okay, I know this sounds extreme and might not be for everyone, but it is an important part of how I support my body when traveling. My husband and I take airplane travel as an opportunity for a 24-36 hour fast.

It helps to reset our circadian rhythms—we eat breakfast our first morning in our new location. If we arrived early in the day, we would eat lunch or dinner.

Airplane food is highly processed and basically “junk food”. I know. I ate it for many years. It can taste good in the moment and it gives you something to do when you’re just sitting there for hours, but I’ve decided that there is a negative nutritional benefit and it doesn’t help me at all with my health goals.

If you want or need to eat, take your own food: meat sticks, hard boiled eggs, nut butter packages with a healthy muffin, nuts, olives, etc. Try to eat delibrately, according to your destination schedule, and don’t just snack throughout the flight, which I know, is easy to do. It just requires a little planning ahead.

Ear Plugs and Blue-Light Blocking Goggles

Ear plugs can help with the loud airplane noises.

The blue-light blocking goggles can help for those times you may want to sleep, especially if your seat mates are watching movies.

Morning Sunlight

If you’ve been reading my articles on circadian rhythms you know the morning sunlight routine: get morning sunlight in your eyes (sans contact lens or glasses) as soon as possible after waking. 5-15 minutes. If you can do some grounding (bare feet on the ground), even better. This simple practice will go a long way in helping you to reset your body clock.

Morning Movement

Just like when I am home, I try to get at least 5 minutes of movement first thing in the morning, with or before the morning sunlight.

Traveler’s Constipation

This is a real thing and I am susceptible, even when I eat well and try to stay hydrated. I now lean on extra magnesium when I travel, and in particular, magnesium citrate, to keep my bowels moving. I take 3-6 capsules at bedtime, depending on the need. I also take some magnesium glycinate to support sleep.

I’ll be heading back to the west if a few days, and I’ve found that directional transition to be a little easier to adjust to, but I’ll be doing all the things again to support my body.

We all want to maximze the enjoyment of our time in our new destinations and it is my hope that some of these travel habits will help you to do just that by reducing the impact of jet lag on your body. And please, add any of your favorite jet-lag hacks in the comments. I’d love to hear them!

Happy vacation!

~Melissa

FNTP, FSS, ONC

If you’re are dealing with cancer or another chronic condition, I can support you with nutrition and lifestyle recommendations for your unique health journey. I am currently taking new clients.

For more information contact me at melissamanningnutrition@gmail.com

This information is for education purposes only. Nutrition consulting is not intended as a diagnosis, treatment, prescription or cure for any disease, and is not intended as a substitute for regular medical care. This information is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions about your medical condition.

Let’s look at the rhythms of a good night’s sleep; our biological rhythms are impacted by our environmental rhythms.

A Good Night’s Sleep Begins First Thing in the Morning

Our sleep quality is influenced by the regulation of your circadian rhythms, our body’s 24-hour biological clock, which is connected to the 24-hour earth clock–an amazing and wise design!

Exposure to morning sunlight (even if it overcast and you can’t see the sun) at sunrise or in the first 30 minutes after waking (and before you look at your phone) regulates hormones in your body that impact your energy for the day (cortisol) and your sleep at night (melatonin). It also stimulates vitamin D production.

Getting 10-15 minutes of morning sunlight without glasses or contact lens is free and you can stack this habit with meditation, prayer, or movement.

I do about four minutes of movement, followed by prayer and some deep breathing. This also helps diffuse my NET identity. It is now my favorite time of day. (There’s that identity shift!)

Daytime Sun Breaks

5-minute sun breaks throughout the day can continue to support the circadian rhythm regulation that you began first thing in the morning. Again, the sun doesn’t have to be shining. It is there and your eyes sense it’s light.

Sunset

(This is what my Arizona sunsets sometimes look like)

Sunset should cue our body that it is time to reduce or eliminate stimulating blue light. The challenge with our modern way of living is that sunset no longer provides that cue for us. We continue on with our “day” using electric/LED lights and screens until we go to sleep.

Screen filters are easy to install on your phone or PC. I use the Twilight app on my phone and it automatically switches to a red light filter at sunset and remains on until sunrise the next day. I use f.lux on my PC. Blue blocking glasses or even inexpensive orange safety goggles have a similar impact.

Eating an earlier dinner and getting movement, like taking a walk afterward to support digestion and blood sugar regulation, can promote better sleep.

• Aim to close your eating window three hours before sleeping.

• Aim to limit fluids two hours before sleeping if you are waking to use the bathroom.

• Aim to get off screens and consciously begin “winding down” one hour before bed.

Day is Done: Preparing Your Body and Mind to Receive the Gift of Sleep

Ideally the final 30-60 minutes of the day should be preparing your body and mind to receive the gift of sleep. There are so many sleep hacks and strategies out there, but the big idea is to do things that will calm your mind and body in preparation for sleep. Here are a few strategies that may help. Pick one or two that resonate with you.

• Take a warm bath with Epsom salts or a warm shower.

• Read a book before bed, ideally one that will help your mind to relax.

• Practice some deep breaking: Deep, diaphragmatic inhale for 4-6 seconds, hold for 7 seconds, exhale for 8 seconds. Repeat for 1-3 minutes.

• Write down thoughts and “to do”s and set them aside until tomorrow.

• Prayer/meditation

• Gentle stretching

• Dry brushing

Your Sleep Environment

• Keep electronic equipment out of the bedroom or turned off. Charge phones in the bathroom or in another room.

• Unplug your Wi-fi to reduce electromagnetic frequencies (EMFs) in the bedroom.

• Do what you can to reduce any ambient light from outside your bedroom. A simple sleep mask can help here.

• Keep your room temperature on the cool side, if possible. If not, these cooling pads are an economical option. Freeze them during the day and use them at night.

Living according to your natural circadian rhythms is the first, and often most impactful way to address sleep challenges.

However you may need to address other factors related to specific sleep challenges. Nutrition? Alcohol? Medications or treatments? Stressful life circumstances? All of these factors and more can impact our sleep.

Added Bonus

Optimizing your circadian rhythms supports the health of your body in ways other than sleep. Digestion, inflammation, nervous system regualtion. I talked about some of these things in my recent article, Let There be Light.

We are, each one of us, unique and we have unique health situations and challenges we are navigating. I provide support and guidance for those who are wanting to make changes in their everyday life patterns to support their health and I’d love to support you. Please reach out if I can help in any way.

~Melissa

FNTP, FSS, ONC

If you’re are dealing with cancer or another chronic condition, I can support you with nutrition and lifestyle recommendations for your unique health journey. I am currently taking new clients.

For more information contact me at melissamanningnutrition@gmail.com

This information is for education purposes only. Nutrition consulting is not intended as a diagnosis, treatment, prescription or cure for any disease, and is not intended as a substitute for regular medical care. This information is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions about your medical condition.

From my point of view, sleep was an add-on, something that I had to do. I had a serious time-scarcity mentality (NET, or Never Enough Time) and I slept only as much as I thought I needed, and sometimes not even that if I was intently working on a project. Or reading a good book. Or, or, or…

Yes, there were the years of four babies, one after the other, night feedings and changing diapers, however that sleep deprivation pales in comparison with my decades of self-inflicted sleep deprivation going back as far as my teen years.

My health suffered from these years of poor sleep: immune dysfunction, inflammation, and weight gain, to name a few of my signs of poor.

I now view sleep completely differently.

Sleep is a gift.

Rest for the body and the spirit. I need that.

This mindset shift has made a big difference in how I now participate in preparing myself to receive the gift of sleep. And there is preparation involved, at least for me.

I recognized that I had taken on the self-declared identity of a “Night Owl” at a young age. That’s just who I was. I had been wearing that identity for decades and I needed to take it off and put on a new, healthier identity:

I am a person designed to live in harmony with my circadian rhythms

This is my new identity. But I didn’t take it on all at once. I needed time and understanding as to why it was important for me to make these changes.

(I had to use this photo for my article because I had childhood obsession with koala bears + when my sleep was dysregulated, I could nod off anywhere—probably even on a log. This image spoke to me!)

Why Do I Need to Sleep, Anyway?

I wanted to be convinced.

Understanding the importance of sleep for my body’s wellbeing helped me to make the mindset shift and to do the work of receiving the gift of sleep. Here are a few of the top reasons that convinced me to seek restorative sleep:

Sleep is when the body performs some of its most powerful detoxification work, especially the brain. The brain detoxification mechanisms are 10 times more active when we are sleeping! This was a big one for me as my brain was my number one organ that I want to protect and support.

We intuit that our brains need rest and maybe even our muscles and joints, but other parts of our body need rest as well.

Our digestive system detoxes while we sleep too. This factor has also been significant to my healing.

I learned that the immune system runs its search and destroy missions when I am sleeping. With an autoimmune conditions, this gave me new motivation to improve my sleep.

Further, chronic inflammation can increase when the immune reset is disrupted at night. I didn’t need a blood test to tell me that I was chronically inflamed. My back, my skin, and my joints were screaming it at me. I just wasn’t paying attention and I hadn’t yet learned to connect the dots.

Coming to the realization that I needed–and wanted–better sleep was an important starting point, but it didn’t fix my poor sleep patterns. That took time and considerable effort.

And though I have made a major mindset shift, I can slide back into the NET mindset when life is full of good things and hard things.

What is Your Sleep Story?

This is my sleep story, but perhaps yours looks different.

Perhaps you’ve already accepted that sleep is a gift–no dispute there. But you still experience sleep challenges. It may be helpful to seek understanding as to what your specific challenge(s) is as that may help you discover supportive interventions.

• Do you wake in the night because you are hungry?

• Do you wake in the night to use the bathroom?

• Do you have a hard time falling asleep at night?

• Do you wake in the night and have a hard time going back to sleep?

• Do you wake in the night with a cortisol/adrenaline rush?

• Do you wake in the morning feeling rested?

These are possible sleep outcomes that you may be experiencing and they are likely the result of your different sleep inputs. Some inputs are more easily modified or controlled than others.

Like everything else concerning our bodies, our sleep inputs and outcomes are unique, bio-individual. However, we are all human and our bodies have the same design, so there are some general principles that can help improve our sleep outcomes.

I will explore some of these inputs and outcomes in my next Substack article.

Until then, just a reminder that we are a beautiful work in process. It takes time and effort, but we can do it in community, supporting one another.

~Melissa

FNTP, FSS, ONC

If you’re are dealing with cancer or another chronic condition, I can support you with nutrition and lifestyle recommendations for your unique health journey. I am currently taking new clients.

For more information contact me at melissamanningnutrition@gmail.com

This information is for education purposes only. Nutrition consulting is not intended as a diagnosis, treatment, prescription or cure for any disease, and is not intended as a substitute for regular medical care. This information is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions about your medical condition.

When we consider making nutrition and lifestyle changes we may ask ourselves the questions:

Can I make changes that aren’t just temporary? I want a Whole Life plan, not just a Whole 30!

Will they feel so hard and restrictive that I can’t keep doing them?

How do I know which nutrition and lifestyle changes are most important for me?

When I first started nutrition consulting the main pushback I received from physician friends was that nutrition and lifestyle changes weren’t sustainable. It was too hard, too restrictive, and too expensive. People couldn’t be expected to make such changes.

I took this as a challenge. And I took it to heart.

The kernel of truth: if people are not shown how to make these changes in a way that is possible for them and in a way they can continue to make them, then yes, nutrition and lifestyle changes may not be sustainable.

As I consult with and support clients, family, and friends—and myself!— I’ve continued to explore the concept of sustainability. What exactly is it? Who defines it? And, why is the sustainability of nutrition and lifestyle changes questioned over the sustainability of other interventions?

What is sustainability? And who defines it?

Sustainability is the ability to keep going.

In the context of nutrition and lifestyle, it also means creating the conditions for change to happen in the first place, and to continue happening. It’s not just willpower. It’s environment, support, education, economics, capacity, and mindset.

And it’s deeply personal. What’s sustainable for one person may not be for another. That’s not a flaw in the approach. It’s the whole point.

While one person may feel that making changes is too difficult, and thus unsustainable for them, another may have decided that experiencing ongoing symptoms of a chronic condition is unsustainable. They are ready and willing to make the necessary changes. That’s an important starting point. Sustainable changes will help them to keep going.

Why is the sustainability of nutrition and lifestyle changes questioned over the sustainability of over interventions?

Perhaps it is because these changes will ultimately depend on the ability of the patient or client to make the changes. The practitioner cannot control it.

We are now hearing rumblings (and grumblings) that our current medical system is not sustainable. Insurance costs are skyrocketing and deductibles continue to rise. Some are having a hard time finding practitioners. Many are not getting needed answers from practitioners, but are being diagnosed with syndromes or idiopathic conditions rather than a cause or a path forward.

If we’re questioning sustainability, maybe we should be asking that question more broadly.

Questions of sustainability are not primarily questions of data points.

Questions of sustainability aren’t primarily answered by numbers. There are unmeasurable, qualitative factors at play, things that don’t show up in labs or on a chart but matter enormously to whether someone can actually keep going.

This is why I work hard to understand what will make change sustainable for each specific client. They come to me with their own reasons, their own goals, their own lives. Data analysis matters. Accurate education and recommendations matter. But what matters most is the support a person receives in actually making the changes.

I find that it is nearly always easier to make sustainable changes in the context of community, and with guidance and support.

I can help you if you’re ready to make sustainable nutrition and lifestyle changes that will support your health goals and your unique health story. You can book a free intro call with me using the link to my website below. Let’s talk!

~Melissa

FNTP, FSS, ONC

If you’re are dealing with cancer or another chronic condition, I can support you with nutrition and lifestyle recommendations for your unique health journey. I am currently taking new clients.

For more information contact me at melissamanningnutrition@gmail.com or book a free intro call via my website: melissamanningnutrition.com

This information is for education purposes only. Nutrition consulting is not intended as a diagnosis, treatment, prescription, or cure for any disease, and is not intended as a substitute for regular medical care. This information is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions about your medical condition.

Though for most of my life, I wasn’t aware of its impact on my health. This goes to show, I believe, how we can become enveloped by the “progress” of modern life and disconnected from the inherent design and wisdom creation.

I really had no idea.

And not surprisingly, I was a self proclaimed night owl. I came alive at night, savoring those hours after my kids went to bed to read, study, sew, etc., etc. Mornings were challenging, but coffee (with sugar) helped. This had been my sleep/wake pattern since high school.

Then I learned how the entire physiology of my body is regulated (or dysregulated, as was the case) by my circadian rhythms, the 24-hour natural clock that is part of my body’s design and which connects with the rhythms of the sun.

• Waking and sleeping

• Appetite

• Digestion

• Body temp

• Metabolism

• Stress response

• Cardiovascular

• Hormones

• Mood

What do they all have in common? They need natural sunlight to function optimally. And natural sunlight always comes at the right time for our bodies!

Unfortunately, modern life doesn’t support this design for human thriving. It just doesn’t.

Before the invention of artificial light, we did our main work of the day by sunlight. At night we depended on moonlight, fire light, or candle light. Later we added oil lamps and eventually the incandescent light bulb.

Now our lives are flooded with LED and blue light from light fixtures, screens, electronic equipment, and ambient light (streetlights, etc.) from the moment we wake up until the moment we go to bed at night—and sometimes, unfortunately, even after we go to bed.

Most of the natural light signals that support the body’s circadian rhythms have been hijacked by artificial, blue light.

Natural Sunlight Supports Our Health

Natural sunlight contains all the spectrums of light that our bodies need for optimal body function, from ultraviolet (UV) to far infrared, and includes all the colors of the visible spectrum. Our eye receives these light signals through non-visual photo receptors. These non-visual photo receptors are particularly sensitive to blue wavelength light, the body’s natural signal to wake up and start the day.

The vast amounts of artificial blue light we are now exposed to each day through our eyes and our skin promotes wakefulness at all times of the day and night.

We may perceive the effects of this light as productivity and entertainment, however, the steady diet of artificial light can be toxic our bodies, have a similar effect as junk food. Think of it as “junk light”.

One of the most significant negative effects of a diet of artificial light is the disruption of our natural hormone function. Hormone disruption can lead to

• insulin resistance

• high blood glucose/ type-2 diabetes

• the accumulation of visceral fat (the inflammatory fat that forms around our organs)

Artificial light at night can actually “trick” our body into producing glucose and insulin, raising our blood glucose level without even eating anything. Yikes!

Our mitochondria, the energy-producing organelles of the cell, are also impacted and can become impaired by a diet of artificial light coupled with the deprivation of natural sunlight.

Why is this significant? We now know that the health of the cell, which includes our DNA, is impacted by the health of our mitochondria.

Almost all chronic diseases, including cancer, begin with mitochondrial dysfunction and impairment. Not only are we flooding our body with visible-only blue light, day and night, we are not exposing our eyes and skin to health promoting sunlight. If we do spend time in sunlight, we often cover our skin with chemical sunscreens, and our eyes with sunglasses.

Many, if not most of us, are sunlight deficient.

Sunlight stimulates vitamin D production, which promotes immune and bone health. Many of us pay for and take many supplements each day to support our health. Sunlight is a powerful supplement, and it is free.

Near infrared light penetrates approximately 10 cm (4 inches) into our bodies, stimulating our pineal gland to produce melatonin at the appropriate times. Besides regulating our sleep/wake cycle, melatonin is a powerful antioxidant which protects our DNA and repairs oxidative stress (human “rusting) in our bodies.

Spend as much time outdoors as possible, even if it is cloudy outside. The natural sunlight may be somewhat reduced by cloud cover, but its health promoting properties are still effective.

Get rid of the sunglasses and even remove your eyeglasses, if possible, when you are outside.

Unless it is really necessary due to long exposure of intense sunlight, skip the sunscreen and don’t wear make-up that includes UV protection.

4-Point Plan for Optimizing Circadian Rhythm Health

1. Get real sunlight first thing in the morning, ideally at sunrise, but if not, within the first 30 minutes of waking.

   I have begun a morning practice of meeting the sunrise while at the same time grounding (bare feet on the grass or dirt). This takes from 5-15 minutes, but it is my 15 minutes of power and calm for the day. You may not be able to ground in the winter depending on where you live. I have grounded in temperatures as low as 32 degrees Fahrenheit, and my son has taken a little hot water out with him, to thaw a patch of ground! I highly recommend develop a morning light practice, if you don’t already have one.

   Good: 5 minutes of daybreak sun exposure

   Better: 5 minutes of daybreak sun exposure + grounding

   Best: 15 minutes of daybreak sun exposure + grounding

2. 1-5 minute sun breaks during the day.

   Many of us are working indoors on screens during the day, but even 1- minute sunlight breaks throughout the day can support our circadian, mitochondrial, and metabolic health. Remove your eyeglasses, if you wear them. Blue-blocker glasses can protect our eyes during the day from excess blue lights from digital screens.

3. Get outside and look in the direction of the sun around sunset Again, this helps to set your circadian clock

4. Block artificial blue light after sunset Once the sun sets, it’s all about reducing our exposure to artificial blue light. Again, this is where the blue blockers come in handy.

   You can also use a screen filter app on your devices to block blue light. I use Twilight on my phone and f.lux on my PC. Both blockers come on automatically when the sun sets.

   You don’t need to spend a lot of money on blue blockers. If you are not worried about fashion, you can use these safety goggles, as I do, in the house after dark.

   I can really tell the difference when I working on screens that are dimmed, and I am wearing blue blockers. I can “feel” my body winding down and preparing for sleep. As someone with night-owl tendencies who has had a hard time falling asleep at night, blocking blue light has been a game changer for me.

Healed Circadian Rhythms Support my Health

It took some time, but restoring and submitting to my natural circadian rhythms has been one of the most healing steps I’ve made. I’ve experienced:

• Increased daytime energy

• Better sleep

• Decreased inflammation

• Circadian digestion (typical morning stools for the first time in years!)

And those are just the things I’m noticing.

Sunlight is free and the practices I’m suggesting take only minutes a day.

Our bodies. Sunlight. It’s all there. It always has been. This is just another example of how re-connecting our bodies to nature can bring the regulation and healing that we were meant to experience.

~Melissa

FNTP, FSS, ONC

If you’re are dealing with cancer or another chronic condition, I can support you with nutrition and lifestyle recommendations for your unique health journey. I am currently taking new clients.

For more information contact me at melissamanningnutrition@gmail.com

This information is for education purposes only. Nutrition consulting is not intended as a diagnosis, treatment, prescription or cure for any disease, and is not intended as a substitute for regular medical care. This information is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions about your medical condition.

One can find a lot of helpful health information online, with an emphasis on a lot. Says the person who recently unsubscribed to about a dozen health-related Substack accounts. Good accounts, but again, a lot!

I have an almost-insatiable appetite for information and I’ve listened to many (many) voices in the health space over the past ten or so years.

But there is one practitioner whose voice I began listening to about nine years ago (I bought her book in 2017) and since that time, she has been at the top of my list of voices I listen to.

Not only have I found her to be trustworthy, humble, and empathetic, I have found her to be a true visionary; one who began a movement and gained a devoted following, not because she aspired to do so, but because of who she was and the integrity she embodied. The following came naturally.

This practioner is Dr. Nasha Winters, ND FABNO. Her seminal work, A Metabolic Approach to Cancer, published in 2017, and co-written with Jess Higgins Kelly, explained and popularized the metabolic theory of cancer, first put forward by German biochemist, Otto Warburg,and later resurrected by Boston College researcher Thomas Seyfried.

Dr. Nasha is a clinician, and so brings the human-touch to this theory in a way researchers have not. Besides treating and walking alongside thousands of people with cancer, Dr. Nasha had lived the metabolic approach to cancer (no longer a theory!) herself, surviving and thriving after receiving a stage 4 ovarian cancer diagnosis at the age of 19.

A Metabolic Approach to Cancer

I read A Metabolic Approach to Cancer, the year it was published, seeking to support my dear mom as she lived with metastatic breast cancer.

I read it for the second time in 2020, after my husband was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin’s Follicular Lymphoma. I read it again when I enrolled in the Oncology Nutrition Institute to study and become an Oncology Nutrition Consultant.

I have met Dr. Nasha only once in person and I found her to be even more warm and inclusive than I could have imagined, greeting me personally at an event at which she was the “main thing”, and inviting me into a small group picture. Fan-girl stuff!

Dr. Nasha is beginning her next chapter with more hard-won wisdom and vision, and believe me, if you are are interested in understanding the biology of your body, your “terrain”, you will want to follow her—the real person—and her work. I have found them to be inseperable. Authenticity in spades.

It’s All About the Terrain

You will find so many good resources on her new website.

• First, take advantage of the free, updated Terrain Ten™ quiz, which will help you to assess the areas of your terrain which may benefit from attention and support. It takes just about five minutes to complete.

• After receiving the results of your quiz, I highly recommend reading her new ebook: Tend The Terrain™: A Guide to the Ten Landscapes of Your Health. Beautifully and clearly written, this book will help you to understand how you can support your body.

• Check out her Tend The Terrain™ podcast. The first episode is out. As one who has listened to Dr. Nasha interviewed on many, many podcasts, I can say that I always learn something new or gain a new insight when I listen to her. Every time.

• Get on her mailing list for all the good stuff I know will be coming.

• Subscribe to her Substack, Tending the Terrain.

Who are These Resources For?

Dr. Nasha’s work has been devoted to supporting anyone with a cancer journey: active diagnosis, remission, and even prevention. If that is you, you will especially appreciate her work.

And who, if they’ve never had a cancer diagnosis, doesn’t want to get one? I’d classify that as prevention. So, everyone.

Understanding and improving the terrain of your body will support you in the context of any chronic condition—again, active diagnosis, remission, or prevention. so yes, her work is for everyone.

I’m very much anticipating the good work Dr. Nasha will bring into world in this new chapter!

Melissa

FNTP, FSS, ONC

If you’re are dealing with cancer or another chronic condition, I can support you with nutrition and lifestyle recommendations for your unique health journey. I am currently taking new clients.

For more information contact me at melissamanningnutrition@gmail.com

This information is for education purposes only. Nutrition consulting is not intended as a diagnosis, treatment, prescription or cure for any disease, and is not intended as a substitute for regular medical care. This information is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions about your medical condition.

If we focus on prevention, we support the health of our bodies and we greatly reduce the need to focus on removing toxins from our bodies.

Unfortunately, given the toxic load of the world we now live in, we won’t ever completely eliminate the need to pay attention to supporting all the natural detoxification pathways and functions of our bodies.

A study conducted back in 2004 detected 287 chemicals in umbilical cord blood, and we can assume that this number has likely increased since that time.

If that is the case, does it really matter if we try to avoid toxins? What is the point if we begin our lives with a toxic burden and are exposed to so many toxins on a regular basis?

Fatalism and overwhelm are two legitimate feelings one can experience when considering the toxins we may come in contact with on a regular basis. It is a lot to take in, and what can we really do about it?

I like to focus on the areas that will likely make the biggest impact:

• Things we put into our bodies

• Things we put on our bodies

• Things in the air we breath

• Bonus: Our bedrooms

  

Things We Put in Our Bodies

This is the first priority as anything we put into our bodies can directly impact our bodies, and depending on the substance, such as heavy metals, may accumulate and not be easily detoxified. Some places to begin:

• Water–consider filtering your drinking water. If you can make just one investment for their health, this is the place to do it.

• Food–Consider pesticides, and other toxic ingredients, cooking utensils, such as pots, pans, etc. made of non-stick or plastics. Consider buying more organics and washing your fruits and vegetables.

• Injections

• Pharmaceuticals–often deemed necessary, but the body needs to detoxify these as well

• Alcohol

• Implants (breast, etc.)

Things We Put on Our Bodies

The things that we put on our bodies are absorbed through our skin making their way into our bodies via our bloodstream.

• Body care products–lotion, shampoo, sunscreen, cosmetics, deodorant, etc.

• Hair dyes

• Clothes–laundry detergent and fabric softeners–this is an easy and impactful one to change

• Chlorine (via water, showers, swimming pools, and hot tubs)

Things in the Air We Breath

Inhaled toxins are delivered directly into our circulation system with minimal detoxification barriers.

• Air pollution, inside and outside. Consider using an air filter in your home.

• Synthetic fragrances–scented candles, detergents, fabric softeners, room freshener plug-ins, car air fresheners, perfume, all contain toxins which are hormone disruptors.

• Mouth breathing has less natural filters for toxins than does nose breathing.

Bonus: Our Bedrooms

We spend approximately a third of our life in our bedrooms. As I wrote about last week, our bodies do the heavy lifting of detoxification work while we are sleeping (amazing bodies!) For these two reasons, I think it makes sense to focus on making our sleeping environment as toxin-free as possible.

• Mattress–If it’s time to replace your mattress, consider a non-toxic option.

• Pillows and Sheets–If you can’t replace your mattress, you may be able to afford organic pillows and bed linens. Wash your linens with non-toxic detergent and use white vinegar or wool dryer balls instead of fabric softener.

• Lighting–Block any ambient light to support better sleep.

• Electronic devices/EMFs–Remove (or turn off) any electronic devices in the bedroom) Charge your phone someplace else.

• Dust–Dust is a sponge for toxic chemicals. It doesn’t deliver one toxin at a time. Dust delivers complex mixtures simultaneously.

• Air filter–consider purchasing an air filter for your bedroom

Don’t give in to the overwhelm. Start small. Make one or two easy changes.

I suggest changing out your laundry detergent and stop using fabric softener. I’ve found that I actually save money by not buying toxic household products!

Do what you can. Even small steps can make a big difference in supporting the health of your body.

Melissa

FNTP, FSS, ONC

This information is for education purposes only. Nutrition consulting is not intended as a diagnosis, treatment, prescription or cure for any disease, and is not intended as a substitute for regular medical care. This information is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions about your medical condition.

https://www.ewg.org/research/body-burden-pollution-newborns#:~:text=Of%20the%20287%20chemicals%20we,abnormal%20development%20in%20animal%20tests.

Why not?

A lot of it has to do with the word protocol. In general, I do not work within the framework of protocols, whatever the target may be: detoxification, gut and digestive health, etc. Protocols, by definition, are a standardized set of rules or procedures that dictate how activities or procedures are conducted.

The sticking word here is “standardized.” I believe strongly in a bio-individual approach; each person has a unique health history and unique needs for health support in the present moment. Some of the detox protocols being recommended could actually harm, depending on a person’s health situation.

Which leads to the second reason I don’t recommend detoxification protocols.

Our bodies were created with the necessary detoxification mechanisms.

We just need to understand what they are and how we can support them.

We can begin by checking in with the wisdom of our bodies.

Think for a minute of the ways that you know that toxins leave your body:

• Sweating

• Pooping regularly (but not too often!)

• Urination

Here’s why it is important:

Pooping regularly (but not too often!) is an indicator of digestive health. The digestive system is designed to extract nutrients and expel everything else. All the toxic stuff. When waste sits too long in the colon, toxins get reabsorbed back into the bloodstream: hormones, heavy metals, environmental toxins, etc. Pooping regularly is literally our body’s way of taking out the garbage.

Sweating is the way our body releases toxins through the skin. Our sweat glands should be actively secreting substances from the bloodstream through the skin. Sweating is an important detox mechanism particularly for heavy metals and synthetic chemicals. Adequate hydration, regular exercise, and perhaps sauna, can all support this detox mechanism, helping the body to decrease its toxic load

Urination is tied directly to the health and function of our kidnneys, the filtration system of our body. Your kidneys filter your entire blood supply about 40–50 times per day, pulling out waste and toxins. Adequate hydrations is one very important way to support this process.

But wait! There is more body wisdom that supports detoxification.

While you are sleeping…

…your awesome body is performing some of its most powerful detoxification activites.

Adequate sound sleep is essential for optimal detoxification of the brain. Glymphatic flow, the mechanism of brain detoxification is 10x more active during sleep than waking.

Our livers also performs their most significant detoxification when we are asleep.

The gut undergoes signifcant detoxification and repair when we sleep, rebalancing many of its function. Abstaining from food in the late evening hours will support this process.

The immune system runs its search and destroy missions when we are sleeping. Chronic inflammation can increase when immune reset is disrupted at night.

Our kidneys, our skin, and our cardiovascular system also do their best detoxifcation work while we sleep.

Restorative sleep is key to the health of our bodies and one of the major reasons for that is how it supports detoxification.

Love Your Liver

Our livers are our hard-working organ of detoxification. The function of our liver impacts our digestion, the regularity of our bowel movements, and so much more. Our livers detoxify alcohol, pharmaceuticals, including over-the-counter pain medications, and other environmental toxins that we come in contact with.

First steps in supporting your liver:

• Consider your intake of alcohol, sugar, processed foods, and common pain killers. All of these put strain on the liver.

• Consider late night eating, which can prevent our liver from detoxifying optimally.

• Consider excess weight you may be carrying. It can directly impact your liver health and function.

• Eat bitter greens (arugula, dandelion greens, mustard greens).

• Eat cruciferous vegetables (broccoli, cauliflower, radishes, cabbage)

• Drink roasted dandelion root tea.

  

Our bodies are so wise! If any of those three functions are not working optimally, we can work to support them. If our sleep is not dialed in, than we can consider the ways that we can optimize it.

If you have ever wondered if you should be be doing more in the way of detoxing your body, I encourage you to consider the points discussed above. For the most part these are all things that you can begin to assess by simply listening to your body. It is communicating with you!

In my next article I’ll talk about the best approach to detoxification…

Melissa

FNTP, FSS, ONC

If you would like to schedule a 30-Minute Strategy Call to see how I can help you with your health goals, you can do that here. I’d love to talk with you!

This information is for education purposes only. Nutrition consulting is not intended as a diagnosis, treatment, prescription or cure for any disease, and is not intended as a substitute for regular medical care. This information is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions about your medical condition.

I

• The ritual of making it in my single-serving shiny stainless steel french press.

• The anticipation of enjoying it while I read something, usually a book or a Substack article.

• The smell

• The taste. The taste!

I know coffee is an important part of the day for many of you too, and that you savor your own coffee rituals.

So where does the plastic part come in? Unfortunately, in a lot of places.

I have diligently removed many of the plastics from my kitchen and my food over the years, but I have noticed how challenging it is to remove plastics from our coffee habits.

Why is this so important?

Food and drink contact with plastic is never ideal, but really hard to avoid (I still use zip-loc freezer bags and buy meat that is packaged with some plastic) however, when coffee is involved it is usually hot and hot food and beverages leech the plastic out of the containers and into our food and drinks at a much greater rate.

One study tested disposable cups with water of different temperatures and found up to 10X the amount of microplastics in the higher temperature drinks.

It makes sense. The higher temperatures soften and degrade the plastic or plasticized surface, allowing more micro-plastics to leech into the drink.

And then there is the plastic lid.

The lid gets hit hard by steam. The steam condenses on the inner surface, repeatedly wetting and heating the plastic. That cycling of condensation and heat is actually quite effective at degrading the polymer surface, and those particles drip back down into your drink. Further, most disposable lids are made of polystyrene, which is one of the less thermally stable plastics.

And then there are all the home coffee makers with plastic parts. Not to mention the coffee that comes in plastic pods.

A good rule of thumb: hot liquids or food should not come in contact with plastic.

Unfortunately, in our modern coffee culture, plastic is everywhere. Yes, breaking up is hard to do!

But it is possible. Here are some strategies that may help you.

The best way to detoxify the body is to prevent the toxins from getting into the body in the first place, especially toxins, like microplastics, that we can ingest directly into the body through food and drink.

What do we know about the effects of microplastics on the body?

When we ingest microplastics, they can accumulate in our organs, causing inflammation and oxidative stress, which are linked to chronic conditions such as diabetes, immune dysfunction, and neurodegenerative diseases.

Most human studies show association, not causation. However, the finding of effects across so many organs and organ systems have led the scientific community to consider the impact of microplastics on the body with increasing seriousness.

Some of the organs and systems being studied and believed to be impacted by microplastics:

• Cardiovascular

• Brain

• Reproductive System (male and female)

• Gut Microbiome

How I’m breaking up with plastic in my coffee

• Whenever possible I drink coffee that I make at home in my stainless steel coffee press. (Amazon, $20-25)

• I heat my coffee water in an electric kettle that doesn’t have am interior plastic lid.

• If I’m going out for coffee, I try to frequent places that serve coffee in a glass/porcelain mug.

• I often bring along my stainless mug in case no glass/porcelain mug is available–though sometimes I forget.

• If plastic is the only option, I usually order ice coffee.

• I never use a plastic lid.

If you prefer drip coffee, there are now some drip coffee makers on the market that don’t have plastic. Simply Good Coffee has received good reviews, though it is pricey at about $480. PureSteel has a new offering, but also a waiting list. I’ve heard they are much more affordable. Pour overs offer another non-plastic option.

One step at a time, and the first step is awareness. Perhaps the next step is removing plastic from your home coffee ritual. Next, think about how you might be able to modify your coffee habit at work or at coffee shops.

I enjoy my coffee even more knowing that it free of microplastics.

Melissa

FNTP, FSS, ONC

Melissa Manning Nutrition

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11121293/

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S3051060025000289

https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-032-00098-9_56

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12142344/

Nutrition Consulting is not intended as a diagnosis, treatment, prescription or cure for any disease, and is not intended as a substitute for regular medical care. This information is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions about your medical condition.

Living in this turbulent season of uncertainty can affect even the steadiest among us. And if we are not directly touched by the chaos ourselves, someone we love surely is. Sometimes the stress arrives as a single acute event. Other times it is a slow, quiet accumulation, one worry layered on another until the weight becomes hard to ignore.

I have felt this myself. A low hum of foreboding some days. A heaviness that comes with watching those I love navigate their own uncertainty.

I noticed a question presenting itself: How do I want to respond to this?

Not to the headlines. Not to what I cannot control. But to my own life, my own body, my own inner world.

The answer that keeps rising to the surface is this: strengthen myself. Physically. Emotionally. Spiritually. Because whatever comes, a stronger, more grounded version of myself is far better equipped to face it, live through it, and help others do the same.

Below are the areas I am intentionally investing in. Ten areas may seem like a lot, but the actions I’m taking often flow into more than one area. Small, quiet intentionality.

As I imagine is true of many of you, your lives are already full. You may describe them as “busy”. I can relate, but as new opportunities present themselves, small and large, I find myself running them through the filter of these ten areas of intentional living to help me prioritize my time and energy. This version of self-care isn’t indulgent; it is strategic.

Local Community

I think of this as spending time with people in person. I need this emphasis as I am an introvert and can easily spend a lot (all) of my day by myself, working on projects, and nurturing only my online relationships.

Stepping into more community can be small things like physically attending my HOA meeting, talking time to introduce myself to neighbors who I’ve only had a “wave-as-you-drive-by” relationship with, and shopping at my local farmer’s market.

Hospitality is a wonderful way to build community. So as not to overwhelm myself, I’ve come up with just a couple simple, but satisfying dinners to which I can invite people to join us. I’m learning to take imperfect action.

If you already have a faith community, this is a great place to invest time and energy. My faith community is full of weary saints, though we are usually not all weary at the same time. We support each other with encouragement, prayer, and physical help.

Relationships

I’m looking for new, small ways to cultivate relationships that I already have, as well as be open to new life-giving relationships. For me this looks like coffee with a friend, messages to check in on loved ones, praying with a friend, messages to clients to see what kind of support they currently need, cards to those I’d like to let them know I’m thinking of them.

Physical Strength and Caring for My Body

I’ve come to believe that my healthcare is first and foremost my responsibility, not the system of doctors, hospitals, and insurance coverage. I am thankful to have them if needed, but I am not depending on them as a first line of defense. Not at all.

Two things have become my foundation and, for the most part, non-negotiables:

• Eating well-sourced, mostly whole-foods, without snacking is how I’m nourishing my body.

• Resistance training three times a week is my investment to build lean muscle mass, support my bone health, support my energy and my brain. Which leads to my next area…

Strengthening my Mind

I am strengthening my mind by reading across genres and discussing ideas with others who are doing the same. I am learning to ask better questions and to question my own assumptions. Podcasts, books, and even YouTube videos are a great way to learn something new. Join or start a book club with friends or fellow travelers interested in the things you are interested in.

Breath and Nervous System Care

This doesn’t take a lot of time, but can be very impactful, especially if I am experiencing any kind of anxiety, stress, or worry.

It doesn’t have to be complicated; just a couple simple breath practices have been helpful to me in recent days.

Heart Resonance Breathing, which I wrote about here.

4-7-8 breathing: Exhale completely through your mouth

1. Close your mouth and inhale quietly through your nose for 4 counts

2. Hold your breath for 7 counts

3. Exhale completely through your mouth for 8 counts

4. That is one cycle. Repeat 3 to 4 times

The extended exhale is the key. A longer exhale than inhale signals safety to my nervous system, slowing my heart rate, lowering cortisol, and shifting my body out of fight-or-flight and into a state of calm alertness.

Getting Grounded

As in bare feet on the earth, grounded. The earth is alive with natural electrical energy, and when your bare feet touch the ground, your body absorbs it. This simple act has been shown to reduce inflammation, calm the stress response, and help me reconnect to the inherent rhythm of creation. 15 minutes in the morning gets it done.

Creating

“Create” was one of my intentions for 2026 and I am enjoying putting this into practice. I can easily slip into spending too much time consuming, and creating is the perfect antidote to that. Some of the ways I enjoy creating: new recipes, a small art project, making a simple craft with a grandchild, writing.

The next three areas overlap a lot in my life, however I still see each one as distinctly important as I seek to support and strengthen my whole being:

Time in Nature

Cultivating Life

Noticing Beauty

my basil garden

I can do all three of these in my garden! Indeed, tending a garden might be the ultimate antidote to navigate these chaotic times. Perhaps you have room for only a potted mint or basil plant. Start small. Join a gardening group or attend a talk at your local garden center. Gardeners are such helpful people!

Besides gardening, a walk in a park, nurturing a houseplant, spending time with a pet or reading a book to a child are all things that can support and strengthen the inner-person.

The Difference this Makes

Pressing into these areas of intentional living is helping me to navigate the present uncertainty and instability without the fear and the stress that can come with it. My body, heart, and mind are strengthened by these practices and postures.

I have also noticed that many of these intentions focus on something outside of myself. I believe that we long to connect to the transcendent, to step outside of ourselves to connect with a larger reality. Nature. Humanity. A Transcendent Being who has ordered the universe.

As I care for myself in this season of instability, I feel myself becoming stronger, clearer, and more adaptable. This kind of strength can have a ripple effect: when I am grounded, those around me can feel it and benefit as well.

I hope that this article provides some food for thought and even some practical action steps that may resonate with you right now. Even just one thing. Uncertaintly and instability may not be in our control, but how we care for ourselves within it is.

I would love to hear what you are doing to stay grounded in this present moment. Let’s help each other!

Melissa

FNTP, FSS, ONC

Melissa Manning Nutrition

Nutrition Consulting is not intended as a diagnosis, treatment, prescription or cure for any disease, and is not intended as a substitute for regular medical care. This information is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions about your medical condition.

We love our sweet things! Since we now know all the negative impacts of sugar on our health, many of us are searching for the best sugar substitute: one that tastes like sugar, behaves like sugar when used in cooking and baking, and one that doesn’t negatively impact our health.

Allulose, a rare sugar derived from fruit and corn (so, not artificial, but processed) is being promoted by metabolic health experts as a sugar substitute that might actually have health benefits.

Allulose for the Win:

• The few carbs in allulose are not absorbed by the body, making it a zero-carbohydrate sweetener.

• Allulose is 70% as sweet as sugar

• Like the new weight-loss drug, Ozempic, allulose increases GLP1 which delays gastric emptying, making one feel fuller and decreases cravings.

• Allulose inhibits glucagon, helping to control blood sugar.

• Allulose increases satiety.

• Allulose may reduce liver fat and abdominal fat.

• Allulose may help lower insulin. Insulin resistance, the result of chronically high levels of insulin is a leading risk factor for heart disease, type 2 diabetes, dementia and other metabolic diseases.

• Allulose seems to be well tolerated and may evening benefit the microbiome. In large quantities, it may cause bloating for some.

You can listen to Dr. David Perlmutter, MD and Dr. Ben Bickman discuss the benefits of allulose in this YouTube video. The discussion of allulose begins at about the 22-minute mark, but the whole conversation is worth a listen.

How I Use Allulose to Support Health

My clients are looking for practical ways to eat in such a way that is delicious, easy, and supports them on their health journey—so am I!

A muffin, a cookie, or a even a cake can actually be made in a way that isn’t just neutral, but actually supports health. I remember the look of happy surprise when I explained this to one client, who hadn’t eaten anything sweet for over a year. Now, not everyone feels deprived when they don’t eat sweets, but he did.

A muffin or a cookie can be made with healthy ingredients (almond or coconut flour) and can also include a healthy dose of a good fat (olive oil, butter, coconut oil), more-than-usual amount of eggs, and maybe some cocoa, an antioxidant. Sweeten lightly with allulose (I use about 1/2 cup for a batch of muffins), and you have a healthy “treat”.

Increasing healthy fat while lowering carbs can be a challenge for some, and a high-fat treat made with allulose can help with this.

An notice, I didn’t say a “healthy snack”. I always encourage people to eat their treats as part of a meal.

Sourcing Allulose:

Azure Standard sells organic allulose, also in powder/crystalline or syrup form. Azure Standard has monthly drop-offs around the country. Enter your zip code to find a drop site near you. Their prices are the best, by far. If you haven’t yet discovered Azure Standard, I encourage you to check them out.

Amazon also has some good offers, both non-GMO and organic. Since allulose is derived from corn, which is highly affected by GMO engineering, I recommend purchasing non-GMO, at the least, though organic is preferable.

Melissa

FNTP, FSS, ONC

Melissa Manning Nutrition

Nutrition Consulting is not intended as a diagnosis, treatment, prescription or cure for any disease, and is not intended as a substitute for regular medical care. This information is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions about your medical condition.

The answer doesn’t always come quickly, nor should it. It is a question for pondering, for stirring up curiosity about the cues and triggers, at first glance, tell me that it is time to eat.

I recently finished reading the inimitable Dr. Jason Fung’s excellent new book, The Hunger Code, which provided me with lots of good food for thought (pun intended) on this topic.

Dr. Fung begins with the presupposition that we all eat because we are hungry. But investigating that hunger is where his ideas get interesting. He breaks it down into three main categories.

Homeostatic Hunger

Homeostatic hunger has to do with taking in adequate nutrition to provide energy for the body and avoiding excessive weight gain. Spoiler alert: for anyone familiar with Fung’s work, it’s not about the calories!

The food we eat not only contains calories/energy. It also includes the instructions for what our body will do with those calories. (p. 17) Those instructions are given to the body by way of hormonal signaling (insulin) and so our homeostatic hunger is regulated, primarily, by hormones.

Addressing homeostatic hunger has been my primary way of answering my hunger questions, as well as helping clients to understand their hunger and how the body responds to food.

This gets into the weeds of blood sugar regulation, hydration, sleep, movement, circadian rhythms, etc. in service of managing hunger, not calories.

The principals of homeostatic hunger are generally what we think about and address when trying to make adjustments to our diet, whether it is to manage our weight or the impact of a chronic health condition. However, Fung looks at two more kinds of hungers and that’s where things get interesting.

Hedonic Hunger

Why do we eat desert after a meal? Not because we are hungry, but because it tastes good!

Perhaps it is a celebratory dessert as well. Totally legitimate. But again, it helps to recognize what kind of hunger we are satisfying.

Fung spends a lot of time breaking down the impact of ultra-processed foods (UPFs) on hedonic hunger. They are literally taking over the world. From 1800—2018 UPFs went from less than 5 percent to over 60 percent of the food we consume (p. 109).

UPF’s cause us to eat more food, primarily ultra-processed carbohydrates and ultra-processed inflammatory fats. UPFs are cheap, taste good, and are shelf-stable. And the flavors! Variety is the spice of life and the manufacturers of UPFs are ready to serve up new flavors by the week.

UPFs are engineered to create food addictions. Yes, there is intent involved here. More often than not, these engineered food addictions are not a willpower issue nor even an education issue.

Another type of feel-good eating is known as emotional eating. Recall the dessert mentioned above. Eating it because it is delicious is one reason we eat it, even though we aren’t experiencing physical hunger. Other reasons we may eat it include:

• It makes us feel better

• We are bored

• It’s a habit

• These hunger cues may override the homeostatic cues that tell us it is time to stop eating.

The antidote for hedonic hunger in mindfulness.

Mindfulness requires a pause, which might feel uncomfortable at first, but that pause, followed by curiosity as to where that hunger is coming from. As I’ve practiced this, I’ve come to understand not only reasons why I eat what I eat, but the reason why I want to eat certain foods and certain times. Powerful!

Compete abstinence in the form of fasting is another powerful antidote to hedonic hunger. Moderation just doesn’t work for most people.

Conditioned Hunger

Conditioned Hunger is where things get really interesting! I like to think of this as environmental hunger.

Never one to shy away from the word, obese, Fung unpacks, with science, how much of our hunger is determined by our food environment. Many of us live in, what he calls an obesogenic environment.

An obesogenic, or at the very least, nutrient-poor environment can be influenced by:

• Where you live: The country, the state, or even the county can impact your conditioned hunger.

• Your relationships: having family and close friends that eat unhealthily increases the chances that your food choices will also be unhealthy. People tend to eat like the people they spend time with.

• Snack culture: Our snack culture is a food environment that contributes to metabolic imbalance, including, and in particular, insulin resistance and weight gain. Fung is dogmatic on this one. “There are no healthy snacks.”

• Portion sizes: The amount of food we eat has increased over the last several decades, in part due to increased portion sizes. For instance, a bottle of Coke in 1960 was 6.5 oz. Compare that with a 64 oz (1.9L) Big Gulp from 7-11.

• Food availability: Our food availability has both increased in quantity and decreased in nutrient density. Nutritious food cost more than ultra-processed food, thus those with low incomes are at greatest risk of poor health due to dependence on UPFs.

All of these factors and more condition us to be hungry all the time.

How Do We Get Off the Hunger Hamster Wheel?

Fung’s answer is to go from eating all the time to not eating all the time. No Snacking. Abstinence, and at times, fasting.

And here is why that works.

When we stop eating, we will at first feel hungry. All the old hunger cues are still in place.

Perhaps our body feels “hangry” or low energy because we are used to feeding our blood sugar swings (homeostatic). Perhaps we still look forward to that daily snack that we eat to reward ourself for getting some good work done (hedonic). Perhaps we are gathering with friends and that general means a restaurant meal full of good flavors, and perhaps appetizers, and drinks (conditioned, environmental).

But that hunger is temporary. The more you “abstain” the easier it becomes and that is a physiological adaptation. You will actually feel less hungry because of (circling back to the beginning of this article)…hormones.

Insulin and other appetite hormones will adjust. Our bodies take the energy they need from our already stored blood glucose and body fat. This will satiate our hunger. As our hormones and metabolism regulate, energy increases, sleep improves, other symptoms may improve.

We can now approach all three categories of hunger as we experience with understanding and compassion. The hunger feelings are real, but where are they coming from? And what is the best way to satisfy them? Pausing to listen will provide the clues to help us make choices that will best serve our bodies and our health.

Again, an excellent book, which I recommend to anyone looking to understand why they are hungry.

Melissa

FNTP, FSS, ONC

Melissa Manning Nutrition

Nutrition Consulting is not intended as a diagnosis, treatment, prescription or cure for any disease, and is not intended as a substitute for regular medical care. This information is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions about your medical condition.

When I don’t have the pressure or expectation of being fancy, I am much more apt to invite people over for dinner, and those times of gathering around the table to enjoy food together add so much joy to our lives.

Much depends on dinner. Not just the food, but the whole experience: community, connection, discussion, enjoyment.

We have a lot of family and friends dinners at our house, and we also accomdate varying eating styles and diet preferences.

All these things considered, my best strategy is to serve Taco Salad.

• It is easy.

• It is economical.

• It is adjustable to different tastes, eating styles, and availability of toppings.

• It is delicious (or so my guests tell me—they really do sound sincere!) I have not yet met a person who doesn’t like Taco Salad.

• It can be adjusted to just about every eating style or preference. My son even ate just the meat when he was doing a carnivore diet.

This is more of a template than a recipe. This is how I do it, but you can adjust it however you’d like.

I cook 5 lbs. of ground beef in a large crock pot, breaking it up as it cooks. (You can also cook on the stove-top in a large pot, but I love using my crock pot.)

For seasoning, I add salt, lots of cumin, and some chili powder. The amount will depend on how spicy you like your taco meat and how spicy your chili powder is.

We serve this on our kitchen island or countertop:

• Large bowl of salad greens

• Cooked meat kept warm in the crock pot

• Grain-free chips (or not) for those who aren’t eating low-carb.

• Guacamole/chopped avocados

• Chopped scallions

• Sliced cucumbers

• Tomatoes

• Salsa

• Sliced or grated radishes

• Grated carrots

• Olives

• Feta cheese

You don’t have to have all of the above, but this gives some ideas of easy-to-find, mostly lower-carb, whole foods.

I make my Herbed Sauce with cilantro and lemon juice or apple cider vinegar as a dressing, but you can make it with any herb you’d like, even parsley.

Leftover meat, depending on how much you have, can go in the freezer or be eaten the next day.

This meal also makes a great potluck-style meal if guests want to pitch in to bring a topping.

This meal is always a hit. I guess that is why Chipotle is still in business!

Melissa

FNTP, FSS, ONC

Melissa Manning Nutrition

Nutrition Consulting is not intended as a diagnosis, treatment, prescription or cure for any disease, and is not intended as a substitute for regular medical care. This information is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions about your medical condition.

These traditional cultures didn’t need the clinical trials and meta analyses to tell them that fermented foods were beneficial to their health. But here we are.

As a nutrition consultant, and someone who is always looking to maximize nutritional benefits for myself and my clients, I am always looking for those “top tier” or “super foods”:

• Whole, real food that will support the terrain of the body in more ways than one.

• Accessibility to the general public. Considerations here are cost, availability, and preparation effort.

• Palatable and enjoyable! It doesn’t have to be delicious like ice cream or a grilled cheese sandwich. It may even be an acquired taste, but it has to be something people will eat, hopefully with increasing enjoyment!

Please let me introduce you to a couple of my favorite superfoods:

• Raw sauerkraut

• Kimchi

Both sauerkraut and kimchi are fermented foods, fermented naturally by a process of lacto-fermentation in which beneficial bacteria (mainly lactobacillus) convert sugars into lactic acid. This process preserves the vegetables and creates a distinctive sour tang, without the use of vinegar.

There are many other fermented foods that one might enjoy, such as some yogurts, kefir, etc., but I will focus on the benefits of sauerkraut and kimchi as I have found them the most nutritious and accessible for the greatest amount of people.

History

Both sauerkraut and kimchi are cabbage based.

Despite the German name, (sauerkraut = sour cabbage), fermented cabbage hails back to China, about 2,000 years ago, when workers on the Great Wall were supported by its preservation and health benefits.

A traditional and now famous Korean ferment, kimchi dates back about 3,000 years and while it is cabbage based, many regional varieties with additional ingredients have been developed.

Sauerkraut and kimchi are superfood “levers” that can be used to influence a number of terrain areas:

Gut Health

Kimchi and sauerkraut contain both probiotics — live beneficial bacteria — and prebiotics, which feed those bacteria. These types of fermented foods nourish the gut microbiome, which helps train and strengthen immune defenses.

Lactic acid produced during fermentation plays a crucial role in enhancing kimchi’s health benefits by preserving the food, reducing pH, and facilitating the growth of beneficial gut bacteria.

And we now know that supporting our beneficial gut bacteria and gut health, will support our immune health.

Immune Health

A recent clinical trial published in npj Science of Food (December 2025) suggests that kimchi may help suppress excessive immune responses and enhance immune function. Participants who ate kimchi daily for 12 weeks showed immune cells that became better at spotting potential threats and alerting other immune cells to work more efficiently. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41538-025-00593-7

Metabolic Health

A study in 21 individuals with prediabetes found that 8 weeks of fermented kimchi consumption, compared with nonfermented kimchi, significantly reduced insulin resistance and improved insulin sensitivity. Improvements in glucose tolerance were observed in 33.3% of participants after consuming fermented kimchi, compared with only 9.5% after the nonfermented intervention. ScienceDirect

Additionally, a 2024 meta-analysis of intervention studies revealed a significant reduction in fasting blood glucose after the consumption of fermented kimchi compared with control. PubMed Central

Dr. Jason Fung explains in his book, The Hunger Code, that eating carbohydrates with fermented foods, such as sauerkraut or kimchi, slows digestion, which means glucose is absorbed more slowly, reducing the insulin effect by up to 50 percent.

Considering the impact of blood glucose metabolism on all manner of metabolic health, this could be a very impactful benefit!

Detoxification of Glyphosate

Glyphosate is the ubiquitous active ingredient in Round-Up, now linked to a number of cancers and other health conditions. Besides its use as a common herbicide, it is used in the desiccation (drying) of wheat after harvest.

The studies are preliminary and so far, only done in animals, but there is evidence that sauerkraut juice may help to detoxify glyphosate by degrading it.

The proposed reason: raw sauerkraut juice contains Lactobacillus plantarum, which is reported to degrade glyphosate in the rumen of dairy cows. Glyphosate contamination of poultry manure caused soggy sauerkraut

Nutritional Value: Real Food Enhanced by Fermentation

The vitamin C content in fermented cabbage (sauerkraut) is even higher than in most fresh vegetables, and about a half cup of kimchi can cover 22–56% of the recommended daily allowance of vitamin C for men and 26–68% for women. PubMed Central

Sauerkraut contains a large quantity of lactic acid, vitamins A, B, C, and K, and minerals, and has very few calories. ScienceDirect

News You Can Use

Now that I’ve wowed you with all the science, here is the news you can use if you’d like to try incorporating sauerkraut and/or kimchi into your regular diet, and I hope you will!

Choose Raw or Unpasteurized

For the best nutritional benefits, choose raw or unpasteurized sauerkraut and kimchi. You will find these in the refrigerated section of the grocery store, not on the shelf. Raw ferments that haven’t been heat treated will provide the full probiotic and greatest health benefits.

Start Small—You Don’t Need a Lot!

If you’ve not eaten raw sauerkraut or kimchi, start with a small amount (1-2 tablespoons) to see how your stomach responds, and then titrate up from there. I generally eat a few tablespoons with my breakfast, and I might sip a little sauerkraut juice sometime during the day.

My Favorites

My current favorites are raw sauerkraut and white (mild) kimchi by Wild Brine. The sauerkraut is organic and the kimchi is non-GMO. What I like about these two ferments:

• Affordable & Accessible If you shop at Costco, you will find the best buy on the Wild Brine Sauerkraut there. By far. 50 ounces for about $9.00. Azure Standard is a good source for the Wild Brine kimchi, and it is available at other online and select stores.

• Delicious I’m especially enjoying the White Kimchi these days. Highly recommended!

DIY Ferments

I lived in the Middle East for many years and enjoyed fermented vegetables and yogurt on a regular basis. I couldn’t purchase raw sauerkraut at the store and so I made my own. Fresh cabbage was relatively inexpensive, and the sauerkraut was easy to make, however, I find that most people do not have the desire to make it themselves when it can easily be purchased. If you would like to try making it, there are many how-to videos and written instructions online. Just being real—I haven’t found anyone I know making their own sauerkraut here in the US.

Who Might NOT Benefit from Fermented Foods? (A few caveats)

Some health conditions can be exacerbated by sauerkraut, which his why it is always a good idea to start low and go slow. A teaspoon or two of sauerkraut juice is a good amount to start with if you are not sure.

• Any conditions related to high histamine, such as Mast Cell Activation Syndrome (MCAS) and migraines.

• Some gut conditions such as IBS, SIBO

• If the chilis in kimchi are problematic (some autoimmune conditions and eczema) try a small amount of sauerkraut.

Many people introduce sauerkraut or kimchi because they’ve read about probiotic benefits, feel worse, and push through, not making the connection that their body may be reacting to histamine, tyramine, or FODMAPs. If your body is not it a place to receive these foods right now, you can try again after some healing has been realized.

Melissa

FNTP, FSS, ONC

Melissa Manning Nutrition

Nutrition Consulting is not intended as a diagnosis, treatment, prescription or cure for any disease, and is not intended as a substitute for regular medical care. This information is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions about your medical condition.

Unpacking Food Fermentation: Clinically Relevant Tools for Fermented Food Identification and Consumption - Advances in Nutrition

Frontiers | Impact of fermented foods consumption on gastrointestinal wellbeing in healthy adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34256014/

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41538-025-00593-7

This happened to me this week after reading @dfloramd’s Substack Note about the financial costs of the war we are engaged in and considering that those finances are now unavailable for cancer research, an expenditure that has been reduced.

I believe this Note was meant to provide food for thought about the choices we make as a society regarding how we allocate our resources.

Drawing attention to such choices and their possible consequences is what a good whole-person or holistic practitioner does. They are able to step outside comfortable categories of training and practice and be curious about how real-life human experience impacts health outcomes. That is the kind of medical practitioner I want more of!

What stuck with me was the pushback Dr. Flora received in the comments. Not harsh, but definitely “stay in your lane” or “we read you for health, not politics” kind of insinuations.

In my work as a Cancer and Wellness Nutrition (and lifestyle) consultant, I also strive to consider as much as possible of a person’s whole-life experience and context.

I question how those things or events may have impacted their health, a diagnosis of cancer, or some other health condition.

I don’t treat illnesses or conditions but rather seek to support the terrain of the body, helping people to remove the things that may be preventing their body from healing and add things that will help restore their body’s terrain.

From that perspective, I don’t have any hesitation in stating that war is hazardous to our health. It hinders our flourishing as individuals and as societies.

Some may see this as a political statement, however maintaining such strict categories prevents us from making connections between the complexity of our world and the impact it has on us as human beings, and thus, our health.

Beyond the military spending aspect of not only war, but a maintaining a militaristic society—and this is huge in and of itself, there are a number of other aspects that directly impact our health.

Toxins and Environmental Degradation

It has long been studied and understood that the toxic materials used in defense and warfare are hazardous to human health. One of the questions on my intake forms has to do with serving in the military and/or living on a military base. This is not conjecture and it isn’t difficult to connect the dots between exposure to such materials and health outcomes.

I consulted with a young veteran of the war in Iraq who was subsequently diagnosed wtih colon cancer. He was told by his doctors that his cancer was a direct result of working in the burn pits in Iraq. (https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11986771/)

Another friend died of mesothelioma, a rare cancer that was linked to his exposure to asbestos while he was serving in the military. (https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8394725/

Toxic substances found at military sites include:

• Asbestos

• Benzene

• Dichloroethylene (DCE)

• PFAS (Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl substances)

• Tetrachloroethylene (PCE)

• Trichloroethylene (TCE)

• Vinyl chloride

Exposure to these substances has been linked to serious health effects, including multiple cancer types.

PFAS exposure at military bases

Let’s take PFAS, perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, also known as “forever chemicals”, as an example.

PFAS are very durable synthetic compounds that resist degradation. i.e. they hang around for a very long time. They can leach into soil, water, and air. Because they break down slowly, people can be exposed to them repeatedly over time. Repeated exposure can cause PFAS levels to build in the body.

The military has long used a firefighting foam (aqueous film-forming foam or AFFF) during training exercises and emergencies. AFFFs contain PFAS chemical compounds that are very effective in suppressing fires, an important feature when considering the possiblity of fires in the context of jet fuels and explosives. These foams can easily leak and contaminate nearby water and soil, and they do.

Studies have linked PFAS exposure to a higher risk of several serious health conditions, including liver disease, multiple cancer types (breast, bladder, brain, testicular, kidney, lung), immune system dysregulation and type 2 diabetes.

PFAS are but one example of many kinds of toxins that military service people (and their families) may be exposed to.

One can only imagine the toxic exposures to those who are living and fighting in active war zones. For those that survive, the threat of long-term chronic illness is very real.

And then there is consideration of how the toxins degrade the environment. Just as many people never recover from the impact of war, the land and the biosphere may not be able to recover and restore either.

Trauma, Stress, and Epigenetics

I doubt there is one among us who doesn’t know someone or the story of someone whose life has been broken by Post-Traumatic Stress Syndrome (PTSD) after fighting in a war. And their trauma impacts the lives of those they are close to.

Then, there are the hundreds of thousands of civilians who are caught up in war zones, living with the daily threat of bombing, drone attacks, the loss of body parts due to injury, and the loss of family members and friends. As a result of the war in Gaza, a new category of victims has been created: “WCNSF” , Wounded Child, No Surviving Family. It is estimated that there are about 20,000 of these children.

It is hard to imagine enduring these types of traumatic events, and as we have seen, they can have a generational impact. Indeed, these types of events can change the expression of DNA generations later. This is the science of epigenetics.

Lost Opportunities

Dr. Flora drew our attention to the fact that resources allocated to military endeavors are resources that aren’t available for things such as medical research. There are many other resources important to human flourishing that get a smaller piece of the economic pie in the context of war.

As world economies are impacted, people have less money for basic human needs, such as healthy food, and additionally, that food altogether may become scarce. It is not uncommon for those in war zones to experience famine and even starvation.

The Black Box Warning

From a health and human flourishing aspect, war and all things related to waging it should have a black box warning: War and militarism may cause exposure to toxic substances, events that inflict trauma or bodily harm, and possibly, death.

Despite what the powers that be tell us about freedom and democracy, the reality is there is more death and destruction than there is human flourishing as a result of war.

For a health practitioner, the terrain we support is not just the body in front of us. It is also the world that body must live and heal in. To care for the whole person is, inevitably, to care about the world as they have experienced it. Doing so with curiosity, understanding, and compassion is a powerful intervention toward health and human flourishing.

Melissa

FNTP, FSS, ONC

Melissa Manning Nutrition

Nutrition Consulting is not intended as a diagnosis, treatment, prescription or cure for any disease, and is not intended as a substitute for regular medical care. This information is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions about your medical condition.

Robertson I, Sgrignoli R, Dew A, Darmon S, Landgren O, Kazandjian D, DeStefano C. Long-Term Cancer Risk of US Service Members Exposed to Burn Pits in Iraq. JAMA Netw Open. 2025 Apr 1;8(4):e254436. doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2025.4436. PMID: 40208596; PMCID: PMC11986771.

Lemen RA, Landrigan PJ. Sailors and the Risk of Asbestos-Related Cancer. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021 Aug 9;18(16):8417. doi: 10.3390/ijerph18168417. Erratum in: Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021 Nov 02;18(21):11518. doi: 10.3390/ijerph182111518. PMID: 34444165; PMCID: PMC8394725.

https://pfaswaterexperts.org/military-service-related-cancer/#:~:text=%C2%BB%20Common%20Cancers%20Among%20Veterans:%20Veterans,to%20toxic%20substances%20during%20service.

This is not a question that my husband and I seriously considered after his diagnosis of Non-Hodgkin’s Follicular Lymphoma five and a half years ago.

Our paradigm has shifted.

We were living in Istanbul, Turkiye, at the time of my husband’s diagnosis. We were told his lymphoma was “the best kind” as it was “indolent” or non-aggressive. However, it could be chronic. “Watch and wait” is a legitimate strategy for approaching treatment, however it became clear that he needed to move to treatment about the time the Covid lock-downs were instituted.

After six rounds of immuno-chemotherapy (R-CHOP) he received the coveted “no-evidence-of disease” crown. Though we knew his lymphoma could be chronic we were buoyed by the NED proclamation and my husband’s conscientious attention to his metabolic health. We were confident that he would be “one of those” who enjoyed decades of remission.

That could have been his story, but unfortunately, it wasn’t. We also learned that we were naive about the NED situation. Just four months post treatment, my husband’s lymphoma resurfaced. Just four months—not a great prognosticator.

Fast forward to December 2023, when my husband underwent CAR-T therapy: Three days of chemotherapy and then he received the CAR-T, a specialized form of immunotherapy involving T-cells engineered to help recognize and eliminate the cancer.

30-days post CAR-T, his scans showed a “full response”. We learned that a full response did not mean his cancer was eliminated, but that all of it was responding to treatment. It was diminishing. Future scans showed that it continued to diminish, and “grow cold”. But it was still there. Dormant, but still there.

So, five and a half years later, he still has cancer, but he is thriving.

It would take many articles to tell you all the highlights and lowlights of his cancer journey, but we now think of it as a life journey. Cancer is just one part of his life, our life, but it is usually not at the forefront of how we make decisions about our lives.

Yesterday we celebrated my husband’s 64^th birthday by hiking/climbing Camelback Mountain, 2.5 miles out and back and a 1,450 ft ascent requiring some hand over hand climbing.

At the peak

It is a gift to me that he has chosen to do the work of taking care of himself, and I am very grateful.

Former clients of mine are also thriving WITH cancer. I received this email from a man, about the age of my husband, who is also thriving with lymphoma:

“I wanted to share with you what’s currently going on with my cancer. They were able to FINALLY get a biopsy. Turns out the nodes that showed up in 2023 are Follicular Lymphoma. Since the biopsy, the nodes have shrunk or remained the same in size. It’s assumed that I still have the Large-Cell lymphoma. I feel great. Last weekend I hiked 15 miles with an 80-pound pack! I attribute this largely good news to your program which I still adhere to.”

My understanding of living with cancer has shifted considerably since my husband was diagnosed with cancer. I had no idea that you could not only live but thrive while cancer was still detectable in the body.

We no longer focus on eliminating his cancer, though we certainly wouldn’t mind if it completely disappeared! Instead, we focus on living a lifestyle which supports the terrain of his body, especially his immune system, which has taken a number of hits from his cancer and his treatments.

And he focuses on living the life and doing the things that he believes God has called him to.

I’m not sure how many more years we’ll be climbing Camelback (I have to say, my husband was more able than I was!) but I do hope and pray for many more years of thriving together, with cancer or without it.

Melissa

FNTP, FSS, ONC

Melissa Manning Nutrition

Nutrition Consulting is not intended as a diagnosis, treatment, prescription or cure for any disease, and is not intended as a substitute for regular medical care. This information is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions about your medical condition.

Exhibit 1: Photos taken at a local grocery store—I didn’t even photograph them all.

Exhibit 2: Legendary restaurant sauces that make foods irresistible:

· McDonald’s Big Mac Special Sauce

· Chick-fil-A Sauce

· Five Guys’ secret burger sauce

· P.F. Chang’s lettuce wrap sauce

· Olive Garden Alfredo

The right sauce can make a dish or a meal, adding layers of flavor as well as that saucy-comfort-feel.

Unfortunately, most of the processed sauces available in stores or served in restaurants don’t contribute to our health. Indeed, they contain ingredients that may be detrimental to our health in some way:

• Sugar

• Corn Syrup

• Highly processed oils such as corn, canola, sunflower, soy

• Artificial colors and flavors

• Emulsifiers: Xanthan gum, guar gum, Polysorbate 80

• Synthetic food preservatives such as Calcium Disodium EDTA, Sodium Benzoate

Those sauces don’t look so enticing when you look at the unhealthy ingredients but they have been engineered by food scientists to deliver the taste and feel that makes us want more.

Fortunately, it’s easy to remake sauces with healthy ingredients.

Besides making food taste good, sauces, dips and dressings made with healthy ingredients can make a significant contribution to a health-supporting diet. Here a couple of ways they do that:

Increasing Fats

By using healthy fats such as olive oil, sesame oil, tahini, avocado oil mayo, avocado, and eggs as the base, sauces can help one to tastefully increase fat in the diet so as to provide slow burning energy, even as one may be trying to reduce carbohydrates.

Increasing Antioxidants, Vitamins, and Minerals

Antioxidant-rich herbs and spices can be included to elevate the nutritional value of a sauce or dressing. Roasted and pureed vegetables can be mixed with tahini sauce to make dips.

Sauces are easy to make in a blender or food processor without many ingredients. I usually have a few different types of dips or sauces on hand in my refrigerator.

The how-to, because an example is always helpful!

Below is my recipe for a favorite, easy-to-make, nutrient-rich sauces.

Herbed Sauce

• 1 cup olive oil healthy monounsaturated-dominant fat with a number of phenolic compounds, which are important antioxidants

• 2 or 2 ½ cups parsley leaves or mixed herbs (basil, mint, etc.) Vitamin C, folate, lutein, apigenin, iron, calcium, potassium, etc., etc.

• 2 cloves garlic (or one if it is big) organosulfur compounds, such as allicin, garlic’s most unique and powerful antioxidants

• 1/2 tsp mineral salt trace minerals

Place all ingredients in a blender (I use a Ninja smoothie blender) and blend. This can be used as an herbed sauce to add fat, flavor and nutrients to other foods such as chicken or fish.

You can also add some apple cider vinegar (I add ¼-1/3 cup to the recipe above) to make it into a dressing. I make a couple of jars of this at a time and store them in the fridge.

I am fortunate to have bountiful basil growing in my garden year-round, but if this isn’t you, you can also use organic parsley or cilantro, which is usually available year-round at the grocery store. (Pro-tip: the curly parsley is easy to pick off the stems, and the cilantro makes a great variation for dressing a taco salad.)

This is our everyday dressing for our everyday dinner salad. It takes just a few minutes to make; if you like to batch prepare, you can easily make a few extra batches to be stored in the freezer.

Adding healthy fat to the diet—that tastes good!—is a common challenge my nutrition clients have. Sauces, dips, and dressings make it easy and delicious. And if it is not easy or delicious it’s going to be a hard sell, no matter how nutritious it is.

So yes, Sauces are King.

Melissa

FNTP, FSS, ONC

Melissa Manning Nutrition

Nutrition Consulting is not intended as a diagnosis, treatment, prescription or cure for any disease, and is not intended as a substitute for regular medical care. This information is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions about your medical condition.

I’m not so good at compartmentalizing my emotions and focus and I imagine some of you aren’t as well. How do we “live” in the midst of bad news, chaos, and tragedy?

And what does the way we live in this context have anything to do with our health?

If you are following world news, you know that the US has been building up its war assets in the Middle East for days and that our leaders have been making bellicose speeches trying to justify the need for us to embark on an unprovoked war while in the midst of diplomatic meetings with the leadership of Iran.

This morning, I awoke to the news that the US and Israel had begun the war by bombing a girls primary school in southern Iran. The death toll is now over 100, and it was not the only school targeted. We intentionally killed children.

I confess to being a news junkie, and especially when it comes to wars in the Middle East, the beloved land that I called home for over 30 years.

I don’t see “civilians”. I see the faces of the children who picked wildflowers and sang happy birthday to me, the mothers who taught me how to love my own children, and the fathers who endure hard labor to provide for their families.

As a health practitioner, I am also very aware of the great impact of a regulated nervous system on the health of the body. A nervous system that is regularly or continually in a “fight or flight” state has a negative impact on our physical health.

How a chronic “fight or flight” state might feel in our body:

• anxiety

• despair

• stress

• poor sleep

• ruminating

• poor focus

• dysregulated eating

• pain

• immune system dysregulation

A regulated nervous system is about adaptability.

A regulated nervous system moves with life. It activates when necessary and relaxes when safe. It doesn’t make sense that we seek to always be calm, but when we can’t return to a state of calm and rest, it takes it toll on our body.

What can we do when the circumstances around us, and maybe even in us, keep us activated, promoting anxiety, hopelessness, anger? How do we handle the stress of these events without getting stuck in it?

That is the question I am facing today, and perhaps you are too. Or, maybe there are other stressful circumstances, past and present, which threaten your peace and the regulation of your nervous system.

I’ve recently started doing a simple breathing practice called Heart Resonance Breathing (Coherence Breathing) that is supporting me today so I will share it with you. As a Christian, I am combining this breathing practice with prayer, so I will tell you how I’m doing that as well.

Heart Resonance Breathing was introduced and popularized by French physician Dr. David Servan-Schreiber in his 2003 book, The Instinct to Heal. It involves slow, rhythmic breathing to increase heart rate variability (HRV).

HRV is the variation in time between each heartbeat and it is a robust measure of health. What is important is not how fast or how slow one’s heartbeat is, but rather, how adaptable it is. And yes, that adaptability is connected directly to the adaptability of the autonomic nervous system.

HRV can be objectively measured and is a window into how safe, adaptive, and resilient your nervous system feels.

Heart Resonance Breathing—How to Do it

Get into a comfortable position: you can be sitting up, laying down, or standing.

Set Your Breathing Pace, deep diaphragmatic breathing.

• Inhale for 5-6 seconds

• Exhale for 5-6 seconds

The key is slow, smooth, and even. Try to breathe through your nose and exhale gently through your nose or mouth. Your belly should expand on the inhale and soften on the exhale.

Focus on Your Heart

Bring your attention to your heart. Imagine the breath moving in and out of your heart area rather than just your lungs. This attentional shift enhances the resonance effect.

You may find it helpful, even calming to place one or both hands over your heart as you breath. I like to do this as it helps me to draw attention to my heart.

Add a Positive Emotional Cue

Once your breathing rhythm is steady, evoke a positive emotion such as:

• Gratitude

• Love

• Care

• Peace

The combination of the emotion and the breathing rhythm increases HRV coherence more than breathing alone.

Try to do this for about 3 minutes to begin with and increase as you are able.

Here is a short video showing how to practice Heart Resonance Breathing:

My Current Practice of Heart Resonance Breathing with Prayer:

I begin by setting my breath pace and placing my hands over my heart.

I evoke the emotions of love or care by visualizing someone that I want to send love or care to by praying for them. I focus on that love “energy” in my heart as I pray for them.

I also use this practice to be quiet before God and to express my love to him.

It’s very simple, but I am finding breathing, focusing on the heart, and evoking a positive emotion to be a powerful combination when it comes to regulating my nervous system and connecting with God and others through loving prayer.

I am convinced it is acceptable, and even required at times, to be outraged and heartbroken in the face of destruction of human life, but I know I can’t continually live well in a state that these emotions evoke.

Whatever difficult things you are facing in your life today, I hope this simple practice in helpful for you.

In Peace,

Melissa

FNTP, FSS, ONC

Melissa Manning Nutrition

Nutrition Consulting is not intended as a diagnosis, treatment, prescription or cure for any disease, and is not intended as a substitute for regular medical care. This information is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions about your medical condition.

Savulescu-Fiedler I, Bucurica S, Toader I, Pistol C, Maniu I. Heart-focused breathing technique and attitude breathing technique effects on heart rate variability in young healthy subjects. Physiol Rep. 2025 Nov;13(21):e70589. doi: 10.14814/phy2.70589. PMID: 41189460; PMCID: PMC12586950.

Young HA, Benton D. Heart-rate variability: a biomarker to study the influence of nutrition on physiological and psychological health? Behav Pharmacol. 2018 Apr;29(2 and 3-Spec Issue):140-151. doi: 10.1097/FBP.0000000000000383. PMID: 29543648; PMCID: PMC5882295.

• Curious

• Thoughtful

• Resourceful

• Responsible

• Dedicated

• Helpful

• Frugal (this one has it’s own issues, to be explored in a separate article)

My own DIY health journey, first on behalf of a family member, and then myself, then another family member, was catalyzed by the impact that a true-story movie had on me as a young adult.

Lorenzo’s Oil (1992) told the story of the mother and father of Lorenzo, a young boy with a rare genetic—and fatal—disease, adrenoleukodystrophy (ALD), and their dedicated research and development of a therapeutic oil derived from olive and rapeseed oils. (Lorenzon’s Oil did not cure the disease but it slowed progression and Lorenzo lived to be 30 years old and it has since helped many other carriers of this genentic disorder from developing symptoms)

Neither of Lorenzo’s parents had a science or medical background; Michaela Odone was an English teacher and Augusto Odone, a World Bank economist. Together they defied professional skepticism to research, understand, and develop Lorenzo’s oil. Working before the internet, they taught themselves biochemistry by studying medical literature at the physical NIH library.

I was the mother of two young children when I watched this film and I was deeply inspired by the devotion and determination of the Odones.

The seed of DIY-ing health was planted in me, however it wouldn’t germinate until my youngest child was diagnosed with a rare autoimmune condition for which there was no cure, and even harsh drug treatments did not necessarily halt its progression.

Fast forward to my own diagnosis of autoimmune hypothyroidism a few years later.

By the time my husband was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkins Follicular Lymphoma the end of 2019, I had begun my nutrition studies and had taken upon myself the mantle of Family Health Researcher and Nutritionist.

My husband’s diagnosis came as a shock to both of us. But I knew what to do. The research began in earnest.

We were living in Istanbul, Turkiye, at the time and Covid lockdowns were in our very near future. We collected treatment opinions, first, second, third, fourth…

We did an expensive test to determine which supplements would be best for my husband and then we purchased lots of natural supplements. I made lists, charts, I read books, learned to read medical research on PubMed, watched videos, and enrolled in the Oncology Nutrition Institute to further hone my knowledge of nutrition.

Once the lockdowns were in place, we were isolated and with even more time to research! I can remember working late into the evening, and the rushes of stress hormones I felt at times as I tried to put together the perfect plan for my beloved husband.

This article would be too long and unwieldy if I attempted to share all that I learned on this journey so I will stick to the impact that the burden of research, health knowledge, and decision making had on my own health.

Per my research, my husband and I decided to do some IV-vitamin C at a local medical clinic. During one of my husband’s treatments, our physician (he was a functional endocrinologist, who I was also seeing for my Hashimoto’s) perceived the stress burden that I was carrying and the effect that it was having on both of us. He gave us some loving advice:

“I perceive that you are thoughtful and intelligent people and that you have worked hard to figure out the best path forward. You have been driving the bus and doing a fine job, but perhaps now it is time for you to take a seat on the bus and let someone else drive for a while.”

This caring doctor’s words immediately resonated with both my husband and me. We felt the immediate relief of a burden shared. We had already done the work of finding good practitioners and treatment options. It was time to step into those, and we did that the very next day.

A Burden Shared

I am still a researcher, and I still seek health knowledge that can help me, my family, and my clients, but I have learned my limitations and the great value of having a health team.

For my husband, this has included his standard-of-care oncologists, a primary care naturopathic doctor, and a naturopathic doctor specializing in oncology, an oncology nutrition consultant (someone other than me, to begin with), an acupuncturist, and a counselor.

Health Information Overwhelm is Real

There is what seems to be an infinite amount of health knowledge, advice, and recommendations on the internet now, and it is being added to or changing every minute of the day. I’ve had clients send me study after study, each one raising another uncertainty as to whether or not they are “doing the right thing” or “eating the right foods.”

I once asked a client to take a month long “research fast”, as I could see that the time she was spending on research was not adding to the quality of her life and was keeping her in a state of hyper-vigilance—not the best for healing.

While valuable in raising awareness, the health advice and recommendations for implementation do not take your bio-individual health situation into account.

I still love to learn, but I now major on learning from others whose expertise I have vetted. I’ve learned to stop chasing cures and I’ve learned to trust others. I’ve learned to rest and let others help carry our family’s health burdens.

I am so very thankful for the health teams my family and I have built and are supported by—I think of them often with much gratitude. And I consider it a high privilege to be part of the health team of my nutrition consulting clients.

I recently talked with a prospective nutrition client, and I asked her what she hoped to receive from nutrition consulting. Her wise answer, “I’ve learned that I do much better when I have someone to help me on my journey. I don’t want to try to figure this out on my own.”

I am still a DIYer at heart, but I have learned that some of those impulses did not serve me when it came to my health and the health of loved ones. I learned that even when working from a heart of love, my body and spirit have limits. I had to honor those limits, for my good and for the good of those I love.

Sometimes the most healing thing we can do is to allow ourselves to be supported by others. Sometimes the best decision is to take a seat on the bus and let someone else drive for a while.

Melissa

FNTP, FSS, ONC

Melissa Manning Nutrition

Nutrition Consulting is not intended as a diagnosis, treatment, prescription or cure for any disease, and is not intended as a substitute for regular medical care. This information is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions about your medical condition.

Our food choices are very personal; we eat the way we eat for a reason. Or many reasons.

Food carries deep emotional associations and attachments. Have we recognized them in our own lives?

I have come to understand that nutrition and lifestyle consulting is so much more than recommending a supportive eating plan for a person’s unique biological needs and health goals. That is the easy part, really.

Understanding a person’s food story is an important part of understanding one’s relationship to food and so I ask people to tell me their “food story”:

How and what did they eat growing up?

What does food mean to them? Is it simply fuel to give them energy so they can do the things they want to do? For a few it is, but for many it is so much more, and I try to get people to unpack that.

Are there any foods that they feel they cannot give up?

Do they enjoy cooking? If not, what are the obstacles? Time? Creativity/ideas?

What is their capacity to make changes? Time? Money? Food access? Health condition?

What is their desire to make changes?

What motivates them to make changes?

I look at their food journal for clues as to what may be important to them or what kinds of foods may be absent entirely.

Some people come to me knowing they “should” make changes, but they also come with a list of reasons that they “can’t” make those changes. They may not say “can’t”, but I’ve learned to listen carefully for the meaning behind their words.

When I began as nutrition consultant, I worked diligently to hone my skills on analyzing the quantitative data, however I have come to understand that the qualitative data, the food story that a person has embodied, is where the real gold is when it comes to making recommendations that can be embraced and implemented.

And while a nutrition plan that lays out carefully calculated macronutrients, types of foods to eat based on a person’s genetic strengths and vulnerabilities, considers disease treatment plans and medications, and is informed by metabolic blood labs, is important and significant work (which I love to do!) it may all be for naught, if I don’t have some understanding of a person’s food story and how that may influence their ability to make changes.

You Can Write New Chapters in Your Food Story

I did!

As I reflect on past chapters of my food story: childhood, young adult life, raising a family, I connect with a lot of good food memories. A lot.

I remember foods prepared with love for me and those I prepared with love for others. I remember holiday foods, vacation foods, family dinners, and my love (!!) of cheese.

But then perimenopause collided with an autoimmune condition, and I concluded that many of my previous food loves no longer served me. They no longer supported the life that I wanted to live. In fact, they hindered it. And then there were the the health challenges faced by other members of my family.

I let myself feel the sadness of these new food realities and then I set to work discovering how to create delicious food that would support not only my health, but the health of my family. I embraced it as a creative challenge.

Now I am writing new chapters in my food story: New foods, new recipes, that support my health, give me energy and a clear mind.

And, I am able to share these foods with others, who though they might not eat the way I do, find them delicious—at least that is what they tell me.

What if Your Food Story Has Some Sad Chapters?

Perhaps your food story contains chapters that don’t bring any joy upon remembrance. Chapters of “not enough”, poor quality food, or disordered eating. Chapters of using food to meet otherwise unmet emotional needs.

Those chapters are important to acknowledge as well and to be remembered with compassion and understanding. It is the recognition of these chapters, especially, that will influence a person’s ability to write a new chapter to their food story, one that aligns with there desire to eat in such as way to support their health and their health goals.

Remember When??

A good friend of mine, who is also writing new chapters to her food story, and I once spent time remembering the first chapters of our food stories. This was a thoroughly enjoyable walk down memory lane, even though we no longer ate many of those foods, especially the baked goods that we were both known for.

That time of sharing together felt very freeing as I realized I could now enjoy those memories without any feelings that I wanted to eat those foods which had brought me so much pleasure in the past.

If you’re not at a point where sharing your food story would be enjoyable, for whatever reason, I encourage you to be curious about it, for yourself.

Our food stories are that important because food is that important to us, to our bodies and our souls. Give us this day our daily bread.

Melissa

FNTP, FSS, ONC

Melissa Manning Nutrition

Nutrition Consulting is not intended as a diagnosis, treatment, prescription or cure for any disease, and is not intended as a substitute for regular medical care. This information is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions about your medical condition.