Eating for Wellness Inc.

31/03/2026

31/03/2026

Researchers told healthy older adults to keep daily steps under 1,500. No diet change. No injury. Just less movement.

Within two weeks, their muscles started shrinking. And a protein-rich meal that used to trigger rebuilding barely registered.

Two weeks. That's all it took.

This is called anabolic resistance. Your muscles are a construction site that needs three things: materials (protein), a signal to start building, and delivery roads to get the materials there.

After 40, all three weaken. The "build" signal gets quieter from inactivity, poor sleep, and stress. The tiny blood vessels that deliver amino acids to your muscles stop opening as easily. And the machinery inside your cells that assembles new protein loses capacity.

You're eating the protein. Your muscles just can't hear it.

The fix is three habits working together.

Distribute protein across every meal, not just dinner. Each meal needs to independently cross the threshold that triggers rebuilding.

Lift 2-4 times per week. Training lowers the threshold so every meal becomes more effective.

Move throughout the day. Short breaks every 30-45 minutes keep the delivery roads open.

I wrote a full deep dive on the science: the menopause connection, plant protein strategies, and a worksheet with personalized protein targets and a strength plan.

Read it below 👇️

Share this with someone over 40 who eats plenty of protein but keeps losing strength. The protein isn't the problem. The signal is.

31/03/2026

31/03/2026

A brain-focused variation of the diet is drawing increasing scientific attention, a new study has found.

31/03/2026

Artificial food dyes burden your kidneys.

They require excessive filtration and re-circulation within your bloodstream.

You may think food dyes are easy to spot, but they can be found in so many grocery products, including:
-Baked goods
-Candy
-Pie filling
-Cake frosting
-Cake mix
-Fruit snacks
-Cereals
-Sodas

To avoid them, always check the ingredients when purchasing processed foods. And better yet, avoid processed foods whenever you can!

29/03/2026

https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/healthreport/ultra-processed-foods-and-kids-behaviour/106479008

Could diets high in ultra-processed food for kids be increasing their risk of anxiety, aggression and hyperactivity? Researchers in Canada have been investigating that question. Guest Dr Kozeta Miliku, Assistant Professor, Department of Nutritional Sciences, University of Toronto. References Ultrapr...

29/03/2026

28/03/2026

One serving. Every day. That's the dose researchers linked to a brain that performs 11 years younger. In a study of 960 older adults followed over nearly five years, those who ate roughly one serving of green leafy vegetables per day showed a rate of cognitive decline equivalent to being 11 years younger than those who rarely ate them.

The study, published in the journal Neurology by researchers at Rush University, didn't just look at greens in general. They identified the specific nutrients doing the heavy lifting: vitamin K, lutein, folate, beta-carotene, and kaempferol.

These nutrients have independent mechanisms that may protect the brain. Lutein acts as an antioxidant in neural tissue. Folate helps regulate compounds that, when elevated, damage blood vessels in the brain. Vitamin K supports the structure of brain cell membranes.

And the beauty of this? You don't need a supplement stack. You need a salad. Spinach, kale, collard greens, arugula, romaine. Toss a handful into a soup, blend it into a smoothie, or pile it on a sandwich. That's your daily dose.

One of my patients started adding a handful of spinach to her morning smoothie. Six months later, she told me her thinking felt sharper than it had in years. That's not placebo. That's food doing what food was designed to do. What's your favorite way to eat your greens?

28/03/2026

This study should change the order of your health priorities.

Researchers found that exercise normally increases your body's ability to use oxygen, a measurement called VO2 max. VO2 max is one of the single strongest predictors of how long you will live. Higher VO2 max, longer life. The relationship is consistent across every study that has measured it.

But when blood sugar is chronically elevated, the exercise benefit on oxygen utilization is blunted. In some cases, blocked entirely.

Let me say that more simply. If your blood sugar is high, your workouts are not delivering their full return. You are putting in the effort but not getting the metabolic payoff.

This does not mean exercise is useless if you have high blood sugar. Exercise still helps with glucose disposal, insulin sensitivity, mood, and dozens of other pathways. But the longevity-specific benefit, the VO2 max improvement, requires your glucose metabolism to be functioning well enough to support it.

The practical implication is that fixing blood sugar should come before or alongside your exercise program. Not after.

And the simplest blood sugar intervention in the research literature is also the easiest to start. A 10-minute walk after your biggest meal. Eating vegetables and protein before carbs. Putting the fork down between bites.

Fix the glucose. Then the exercise multiplies.

The walk after dinner tonight is not just a walk. It is the thing that makes tomorrow's workout count.

28/03/2026

There is a big difference between processed and Ultra-processed. The less processed the better. Processed and minimally processed is ok. Ultra-processed is making you sick and killing you. Cutting out processed meat and soft drink / soda is a great place to start.

Not all ultra-processed foods are created equal. Research found only TWO categories are actually driving the link to premature death.

I know that sounds surprising. We hear "ultra-processed" and picture everything from frozen meals to protein bars.

But when Harvard researchers analyzed 30 years of dietary data to see which sub-categories were actually driving the risk of early death, a clear pattern emerged. The two categories most consistently linked to cardiovascular disease and premature mortality?

Ultra-processed meats and sugar-sweetened beverages. Think sausages, hot dogs, bologna, and sodas. Not the occasional whole grain bread or fortified cereal.

A separate landmark study from the Framingham Offspring cohort published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology found that each additional daily serving of ultra-processed food increases cardiovascular mortality risk by up to 9%. But as the data shows, that signal is driven overwhelmingly by processed meats and sugary drinks.

In my practice, I see patients who feel paralyzed by the "ultra-processed" label. They stop buying hummus because the label says "processed." Meanwhile, the daily soda habit goes unchallenged.

This is where nuance matters. Not every packaged food is your enemy. But the science is clear: reducing processed meats and sugary drinks is one of the highest-impact changes you can make for your heart and your lifespan.

What's one processed food you've already cut? Tell me below. 👇

28/03/2026

https://www.smh.com.au/national/the-five-everyday-products-linked-to-nearly-one-third-of-all-deaths-globally-20260325-p5x3eb.html?utm_source=smh-web&utm_medium=share_article&utm_campaign=national&utm_content=subscriber+afralldigital%2Calldigital&utm_term=product_feature

Researchers have uncovered three key strategies “health-harming” corporations use. And they’re straight from the to***co playbook.

27/03/2026

This one is going to challenge some assumptions.

In a 30-day randomized controlled trial, healthy adults without diabetes or prediabetes consumed sucralose daily. At the end of the trial, the sucralose group had increased insulin resistance and higher post-meal blood glucose levels compared to the control group.

Let me be clear about what this means. These were healthy people. They didn't have metabolic problems going in. And a common artificial sweetener appeared to create metabolic disruption in just one month.

Now, I want to be honest: this is a single trial and the research community has raised some methodological questions. The evidence on artificial sweeteners is genuinely mixed. Some studies show neutral effects. Others show harm. We don't have a definitive answer yet.

But here's what I tell my patients: if you're using artificial sweeteners specifically to manage blood sugar or prevent diabetes, this research suggests you may want to reconsider that strategy.

There are alternatives. Cinnamon adds sweetness without sugar. Vanilla extract. A small amount of whole fruit blended into drinks. Even a touch of real maple syrup in small quantities may be metabolically preferable to a sweetener that confuses your insulin signaling.

The goal isn't perfection. It's awareness. Read labels. Question assumptions. And don't assume that zero calories means zero consequences.