anahorvath.com

Tag: nutrition

  • It Takes Guts

    It Takes Guts
    GIF by Botanical Paperworks

    Something I’m learning as I work on my overall health is just how important a healthy gut is. To feel your very best, it takes guts! And good guts at that!

    While I’m no functional health doctor or nutritionist or dietician, I’m learning a lot by reading books by functional health doctors and nutrition specialists. Even in my nutrition class during undergrad, I came to learn just how important a good gut really is. A lot of recent research shows that your gut health can have a major impact on every bodily system. So if you’re out of whack, there’s a chance it could be tied to what goes on in your intestines. There are some studies that show that the makeup of your gut microbiota can affect menstrual cycles in women and even a person’s susceptibility to neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s! I’ll cite some papers I recommend you check out if you’re interested in reading more about just how impactful gut health is on overall health! You may need access to PubMed to check them out though, just a heads up. 😉

    If you’ve been under a lot of stress or taken a lot of antibiotics throughout your life the microbiome of your GI tract has suffered! High levels of stress can ultimately result in less production of stomach acid. With less stomach acid, you will likely suffer indigestion and also increase the risk of infection in your intestines. So, opportunistic organisms (whether that be bacteria or yeast) will then attack! When looking at antibiotics, those are medications that wipe out both good and bad bacteria in order to remove an infection. If you’ve taken antibiotics frequently, you’ve frequently exposed your GI tract to this clearing. Any organisms that have survived will see your cleared GI tract as an opportunity to divide to no end. Ultimately, in either situation, you are dealing with opportunistic bacteria/fungi/yeast that have taken advantage of a situation they were lucky to get. Your microbiome is in disarray and you may begin to observe symptoms like indigestion, bloating, and a variety of other less favorable symptoms.

    So now how do we take care of dysbiosis or a disruption of the healthy microbiome? See a functional health doctor! At least, that’s my recommendation, because I have found a wonderful functional health doctor and we are working to heal my gut. At least for me, something I’ve done to begin healing is eliminate glute and dairy from my diet. We plan to reintroduce some products in the future, but there will be a specific time for that. I’ll begin a specific antibiotic soon to clear a bacterial infection in my small intestines that will be properly taken in conjunction with personalized supplementation and probiotics. Watching my sugar intake and where I get my natural sugars from has also been a huge thing in helping me feel better.

    If seeing a functional health doctor is something that won’t work out for you, then there are other things to be done! You can look at different testing options offered (likely breath, stool, and urine tests). You can see what your primary care doctor recommends. You can also educate yourself through books written by functional health doctors and other experts in the field of gut health and its impact on your health and go from there. If you’ve been told nothing is wrong, but deep down you just know you’re not 100%, then be persistent. It takes guts to be pushy with people that know a lot about health. It takes guts to fight for what you need to know, but you deserve to know what’s going on and how to fix it! Most importantly, you deserve to feel your best!!

    If you’re interested in a few scholarly articles or a book related to some of the stuff I’m mentioned in my post today, feel free to check out some of my recommended reads. I hope you’re all staying happy and healthy out there! Have a wonderful week. ❤️

    Recommended Reads!
    • Roy Sarkar S, Banerjee S. Gut microbiota in neurodegenerative disorders. J Neuroimmunol. 2019 Mar 15;328:98-104. doi: 10.1016/j.jneuroim.2019.01.004. Epub 2019 Jan 9. PMID: 30658292.
    • Qi X, Yun C, Pang Y, Qiao J. The impact of the gut microbiota on the reproductive and metabolic endocrine system. Gut Microbes. 2021;13(1):1-21. doi:10.1080/19490976.2021.1894070
    • Beyond the Pill by Dr. Jolene Brighten – this is a great book that talks a lot about female hormones too!!

  • Fighting with Food

    fighting with food

    I find it funny that last week’s post was about food and how much I love this one protein shake I’ve figured that I really like. Now here we are, talking about what I realized this past week as I’ve worked through fighting with food. I feel like I’m finally winning this fight. 🙂

    As I’ve focused more on my fitness and developing a sustainable routine for my lifestyle, I realized how some of the things I’ve done in my life have really affected my relationship with food and with myself overall. In particular, pageantry and modeling have created a strange complex that has made me feel angry and frustrated with myself for not always eating “clean” or healthy. So if I were to eat a cookie, for example, to treat myself after an exam or rough day with classes or something, I might enjoy that cookie in the moment but later feel disgusted with myself for allowing myself to have that extra sugar and junk in my body. I might work out harder the next day or make my lunch or dinner somewhat smaller the next day to compensate for that which is SO WRONG. And I have just now realized that.

    Since freshman year of college, I have been struggling and fighting myself so hard every time I eat something that my mind has decided to deem as “unclean” or “unhealthy”. I’ve always been a bit lenient on special occasions like birthdays and other celebrations. I have always allowed myself to relax a bit then, but in general, I have been so rough with myself in terms of food because I thought needed to be that way in order to look a certain way. While I have learned that I can cut out certain foods and feel good, I have also learned that I’m much more miserable by restricting myself to the salad bar and produce aisle at the grocery store. I haven’t been happy feeling afraid of eating certain things. There hasn’t been progress made by fighting with food like I have, so I knew something had to change. And no, it was not my diet. It was my mindset.

    Ever since I began working with my trainer, I feel like my eyes have opened so much more and I am so thankful to have her and my mom in my life. They have both helped me so much with building a better relationship with food and I really cannot thank them enough for helping me with this. I feel like my fighting with food has become much less of a fight and I’m so much happier for it. While I still restrict or limit certain things, I feel much more free with my eating. There is much less shame, frustration, and anger associated with allowing certain foods every once in a while which is amazing and I’m so happy that I’ve had this change in mindset. It has not been easy to reach this point, but we are here and we are in a much healthier position with food now which I am so happy to say.

    I’ve substituted pasta for rice and quinoa because of how much more rice and quinoa can give me nutritionally. And there are still days where I really just want spaghetti or penne. What do I do in situations like this? I make myself what I want! It might be gluten-free or whole wheat, because that benefits me more and I’ve found works better for me and what my goals are, and that’s ok! I’m ok with it! And what if I’m at a restaurant and I’m really wanting pasta? I allow myself to have it. I allow it because I know this is a once-in-a-while thing and that this one meal isn’t going to cause me to gain five pounds or lose any progress. I’ve learned to avoid milk because it causes inflammation and irritates my stomach. Instead, I have substituted that for oat and almond milk. I still enjoy ice cream though. 😉 That’s too hard to give up haha. Again, in moderation it can’t hurt me too bad! I’ve increased my fiber and protein intake and that’s because I have goals set for myself. I focus on including more veggies and meats or eggs on my plate and I’m much happier for that.

    There are some days where I feel like I deserve a piece of chocolate or two. I allow myself that treat and I move on with it! I work out the same amount I have been for the past seven months and I feel no pressure to work out extra to work off those calories. And why is that? I now know that I’m not eating large amounts of chocolate every day. There is moderation. This was a one-time thing and if it becomes more of a habit, it’s something I can work on and learn to manage. This is something so important to keep in mind and is something I wish I had allowed myself to think about in the past.

    As mentioned earlier, I am truly so thankful to have people like my mom and trainer in my life. They have helped me build healthier relationships with food and working out, but most importantly with myself. I am finally learning to honor my body and love myself. I am feeling like a more confident and free person for it. Of course, there are still days where I struggle and I still have moments where I’m frustrated or upset, but I recognize that it’s okay to have days like that. I truck along, keep moving forward, and keep working hard. And I encourage you all to do the same. See you next weekend.

  • The Perfect Protein Shake

    the perfect protein shake
    Image credits to Tasty Kitchen. I wish mine looked this fancy, but I do know it tastes pretty good. 🙂

    I’m definitely no nutrition expert or dietician, but I feel like I have also learned a thing or two trying to work on what I eat. While I definitely am still figuring a lot of things out, I have found one thing I really like: peanut butter chocolate banana protein shakes. There was never a specific recipe I found, I just decided to try things out and I loved it. So if you’re interested in learning how to make the perfect protein shake (at least according to me!!) then stick around. All you need is a blender, a banana or two, peanut butter or peanut butter powder, and your favorite chocolate protein powder.

    Here’s my recipe!
    – At least one banana
    – A good tablespoon of peanut butter powder (PB-Fit All Natural)
    – Half of a scoop of Simple Truth’s chocolate protein powder
    – Califa Farms unsweetened almond milk (I just pour this until it covers the banana, peanut. butter, and protein powder)

    With all of your good stuff in your blender, just blend until smooth and then enjoy! I really like to have this for breakfast in addition to an omelet or some hard-boiled eggs. Sometimes, this is really good on its own in between meals. I find that it serves as a good filler until I’m ready to eat an actual meal. Yummy yummy! 🙂

    I’ve really been working on adding more protein to my diet and I’ve found that this is one of the many ways to do so. Eggs and chicken are a few more of my favorite ways to get my protein in! If there’s anyone reading this that also enjoys a good protein shake, share your recipes with me! I’d love to try them. 🙂 Have a great week and I’ll see you next Sunday!

  • Eating Healthy in College

    eating healthy in college
    Haha, I tried to get a picture of my lunch from Thursday. That was successful and you also get a little blur from my finger. Good job me, good job.

    You’ve heard me mention this before: the freshman 15. Plenty of freshmen struggle with their eating habits upon entering college. There’s so much food available ALL the time and they abuse that. And they eat, and eat, and eat, and before you know it, they’ve gained 15 pounds, hence the freshman 15.

    If you’ve been reading my blog since I started college at CSU, you will know that I was determined to avoid the freshman 15, and so far I’ve been successful and actually lost about 15 pounds. With a combination of working out and proper eating, I’ve been able to accomplish this goal. Exercise is extremely important to maintaining a healthy lifestyle, but it’s also so so so important to eat right. Here’s what has worked for me:

    1. Drink lots of water. Whenever I go to the dining halls, I typically get water and I do my best to drink at least two full cups of water. Occasionally I will drink some iced tea or lemonade but I really try to stay away from the sweet drinks, especially soda. Water is not only good for your skin and body in general but it helps fill you up a bit so you don’t overeat.
    2. Make your plate colorful. While fried food is super duper good tasting, it’s not so good for your body. In moderation, it’s fine, but if the color of the foods on your plate are all a fried brown, you’re doing something wrong. Add some vegetables or fruit to that plate or add a salad. Your body will thank you. Strive for this with every meal and pay attention to the variety of foods you eat throughout the day.
    3. Leave the dining hall feeling not hungry and not stuffed. The wording on that statement might be a little weird, so I’ll do my best to explain what I mean. With eating from dining halls in college, you definitely don’t want to starve yourself. You shouldn’t starve yourself, period! You want to be balanced with the food you eat. If you’re piling on the food and coming back to a table with multiple full plates, you might want to rethink that. Just think about balance and remember that you can always grab a to-go box if you start to feel full. 🙂
    4. Eat desserts in moderation. At the dining halls at CSU, there’s a place dedicated to desserts and I’m sure that it’s that way with most schools. Seeing the rows of cookies upon cookies and plates of cakes and brownies can be extremely tempting, but remember, eat these in moderation! Desserts also taste AMAZING and sometimes its really hard to only take one serving and limit yourself, but all of that sugar really isn’t that good for you or your teeth. Treat yourself every once in a while but don’t go nuts with the desserts.
    5. Seek nutritional advice through your university. Colorado State University has an “Eat Well” program and they have dietitians and nutritionists willing to help figure out foods that you’ll enjoy that are better for your body. In addition to this, all of the menus for food are available online so I have access to the nutritional facts. I don’t pay too much attention to this, but sometimes it’s a great resource for knowing more about calories (even though I’m not big on calorie counting) and nutritional values in general. Most college dining halls have resources like this and within the dining halls themselves, there’s typically information on all of the foods available so pay attention to these! Use your resources and you’ll be set.

    Keep in mind, that these are things that I’ve found helpful and they may work for those of you also eating out of college dining halls, and some of them might not, and that’s ok! Find something that works for you and stick to it. Eating healthy in college is important because it helps set the foundation for eating healthy later in life and it’s important that you give your body the materials it needs to function at its best!

    If you’ve got an idea for a blog post or a question for me, feel free to leave a comment on this post or reach out to me on my new “Contact Me!” page which can be accessed in the menu above. I’d be happy to hear from you. I hope you all have a great week! See ya next Sunday. 🙂