Nili Mind&Body Wellness

08/18/2022

You must have magnesium for your cells to make energy, for many different chemical pumps to work, to stabilize membranes, and to help muscles relax.

The reason we are so deficient is simple: Many of us eat a diet that contains practically no magnesium — a highly-processed, refined diet that is based mostly on white flour, meat, and dairy (all of which have no magnesium).

Anything that is tight, irritable, crampy, and stiff — whether it is a body part or an even a mood — is a sign of magnesium deficiency.

Including the following in your diet as often as you can:

Kelp, almonds, cashews, buckwheat, brazil nuts, dulse, filberts, millet, pecans, walnuts, rye, tofu, soy beans, brown rice, figs, dates, collard greens, shrimp, avocado, parsley, beans, barley, dandelion greens, and garlic.

I also highly recommend a daily magnesium supplement.

The most absorbable forms are magnesium citrate, glycinate taurate, or aspartate, although magnesium bound to Kreb cycle chelates (malate, succinate, fumarate) are also good. To properly absorb magnesium we need a lot of it in our diet, plus enough vitamin B6, vitamin D, and selenium to get the job done.

08/11/2022

The 1st one is debatable, although quantity control certainly matters.
Many article focus on what NOT to eat and that's a very valid point.
But it can leave a gap for readers to actually know what to eat.

Here's a few foods to INCLUDE if you have high cholesterol:
🔹 Flax meal
🔹Beans & Lentils
🔹Nuts
🔹Green veggies (spinach, kale, chard, broccoli, etc.)

Not all high cholesterol foods are bad for you. For example, eggs are high in cholesterol, but they’re also packed with protein and other nutrients. It’s the foods that are high in...

06/15/2022

You can count calories all day long - but QUALITY > Quantity always

Learning to make better food choices and pairing foods in a way that is therapeutic but ALSO enjoyable is one of the basic strategies to support weight management, get lots of nutrients from food and ensure long-term health and wellness.

Dr. Andreas Eenfeldt, founder of Diet Doctor, gave a great talk at Swedish's Metabolic Health Symposium last week! Below is one of his slides.

11/03/2021

Who agrees? 👏

10/06/2021

Healthy eating does NOT need to be complicated!
💯
In fact, it’s often the smallest changes that lead to the biggest impact on your overall health.
These 4 Food Swaps are a great place to start upping your nutrition game right away!
Have a food swap that’s worked for you?
Tell me about it in the comments 👇🏼😊 I love hearing from you! These little swaps make for BIG lasting change.
Also,👉🏼 check out & join my free community group where we can connect and you can find support on your journey.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/820013098726635

10/06/2021

The best strategy for a long and healthy life is to eat your medicine—get your drugs at the farmacy, not the pharmacy! Food is far more than just calories or energy to fuel our bodies. It is information, instructions that regulate every function of our bodies in real-time.

Food is not only a source of energy, joy, connection, and pleasure; it can also rejuvenate us and even reverse disease. When we think of food, we think of protein, carbohydrates, fats, fiber, vitamins, and minerals. But the most important parts of food may be the tens of thousands of medicinal compounds embedded in plants and even animal foods that regulate, modulate, and influence nearly all of the 37 billion billion chemical reactions that occur in our bodies every second. I call this process symbiotic‐phytoadaptation. It means our bodies use chemicals found in food to beneficially influence each of our biological systems.

Through evolution, we have borrowed the molecular magic embedded in foods to optimize and supercharge our biology. For example, we can’t synthesize vitamin C or omega-3 fats; we have to get these from nature. And it’s not just the obvious essential fatty acids, amino acids, and vitamins and minerals we get from our food; we also get important molecules called phytochemicals.

There are 25,000-plus phytochemicals in the plant kingdom identified to date, and they’ve only recently been deemed critical for health. Surprisingly they are also found in animals, such as in grass-fed cows, who consume a wide array of nutrient-dense plant foods. While deficiency of these phytochemicals may not result in an acute disease like scurvy or rickets or in protein malnutrition, it can lead to long-latency deficiency diseases such as heart disease, diabetes, hypertension, obesity, dementia, depression, and more.

The only way to take advantage of these disease-fighting compounds is to focus on our food quality. Deeply colorful plant foods, organic and grass-fed meats, and wild fatty fish are abundant in compounds that protect our cells and fight off invaders. Every time you take a bite of food, consider that you are programming your biology for health or disease.

09/30/2021

What am I supposed to eat??🤔⁠
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Nowadays with all kinds of diets out there that tell you what you can't eat and drink, it can be confusing and frustrating to try and do the "right" thing.⁠
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Our philosophy is that balanced eating is the way to go to give your body all the energy and building blocks and nutrients that it needs!⁠
And also a few treats that you enjoy...obvi😉⁠
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But when it comes to building your plate for a balanced meal, a basic guide to use is to make sure you add:⁠
🔹Carbs⁠
🔹Protein⁠
🔹Fats⁠
🔹Colorful Veggies⁠
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You want to end up with at least 3 different colors of foods on your plate - and no! artificial color does not count - to make sure you get a variety of nutrients and flavor! 🤤⁠⁠
What are some of your favorite plate creations?⁠
I’d love to know your answers in the comments.👇🏼😊⁠⁠⁠

07/20/2021

Having snacks is a great way to help you keep blood sugar steady and also minimize cravings.

BUT - if you are snacking on foods that are packaged, it's important to be very mindful of the amount of calories per SERVING and also the amount of added sugars.

Hope this tip helps 😊

07/13/2021

Metabolic Syndrome - Have you heard of this before?⁠⁠
Metabolic Syndrome is not a disease per se, this diagnosis describes a cluster of conditions including high cholesterol, high blood sugar (diabetes or pre-diabetes), high blood pressure, fatty liver and extra fat around the waist.⁠⁠
Metabolic Syndrome may not pose any immediate complications or risks, but letting these issues fester and grow, set you up for that heart attack or stroke in your 50’s or 60’s 😳. It may seem like this far off future but I’m sure I’m not the only one that notices the years fly by. Before you know it, we’re in our 50’s. Trying to make changes toward a healthier lifestyle and diet at that point can be more difficult and in some cases even too late.⁠⁠
Nowadays, life gets so busy with the million things we have to get done or deal with everyday that it’s easy to make yourself or your future your last priority, if at all…⁠ ⁠
It doesn’t have to be difficult or complicated and you don’t have to do it alone either!⁠⁠
Start with the little things:⁠
💧Drink more water⁠
🚶🏻‍♂️Walk more every day⁠
🍓Eat more fruits⁠
🥕Eat more vegetables⁠
💤Get your 7-8 hrs of sleep⁠
🙏🏼Ask for support⁠⁠
👇🏼Share below, what are some small steps you can take today to create the health and life you want?⁠
Tell me about it in the comments or feel free to DM me😊.⁠
I’d be thrilled to hear from you and help you work through this together. Knowing your why is the next step in moving toward your goal. Let’s get there together!💜⁠⁠
Be sure to 👉🏼check out the link in my Bio to join my free community group where we can connect and you can find support on your journey.⁠⁠⁠⁠

06/23/2021

I LOVE snacking, but…⁠⁠
Not all snacks are created equal when it comes to supporting blood sugar control.⁠⁠
Staple office snacks like donuts, cookies and bagels may taste great and satisfy an instant craving, but they can make your blood sugar go ALL OVER the place.⁠⁠
What does that mean for you?⁠⁠
I’m sure you’re familiar with that afternoon slump when you feel all tried and groggy especially after those donuts or cookies. Having one occasionally is fine, but you have to be strategic about it to support blood sugar control and avoid those energy dips.⁠⁠
I KNOW I have a huge sweet tooth and I LOVE to snack so I have to make sure to pack some blood sugar friendly snacks for my day at work so then I don’t fall victim to the temptations of sugary snacks.⁠⁠
I always like to include a combination of macros for my snacks if I can and combine carbs with protein and/ or fats.⁠⁠
What that looks like:⁠
🍓Strawberries with Dark Chocolate⁠
🥬Hummus with Veggie Sticks⁠
🍎Apple Slices with Peanut Butter⁠
🥜Mixed Nuts with Raisins⁠⁠
Simple and delicious - you can satisfy your sweet tooth and enjoy your snacking without sabotaging your blood sugar and weight loss journey!⁠⁠
What are some of your favorite snack combos?⁠
I’d love to know your answers in the comments.👇🏼😊⁠
Cheers!
-Aida⁠⁠

06/14/2021

If you’re anything like me...
You’ve tried it all and that includes some of those restrictive diets where you’re not allowed to eat this and that by some arbitrary rule that you set for yourself or based on whatever fad diet you’re following at the time.
I used to have a whole list of foods I told myself that I wasn’t allowed to eat:
🚫No sweets
🚫No cookies
🚫No cakes
🚫No fried foods
🚫No fast food
🚫No pizza
🚫No burgers
And the list went on and on and on...by the end of it all I was eating was just green salads with chicken or fish.
I’m not saying those are bad things to eat, but it just wasn’t ENOUGH for me.
I put myself on these unrealistic restrictive diets and told myself I have to use my “willpower” to resist foods that I actually enjoyed eating so that I could lose weight and fix my high cholesterol. I didn’t want to be on prescriptions at age 25 and I thought eating little to nothing would fix the problem.
And in all honesty, I was not happy.😢
🔹️I was not happy eating food.
🔹️I was not happy with the way I looked.
🔹️I was not happy with the way I felt in my body
🔹️I was not happy with all the stress I put on myself around food. 
And it’s been a process… a long process, but I just couldn’t live like that anymore and I had to let go of all the rules & restrictions. I had to find another way to be able to live and enjoy food but also feel good in my body & my skin. And that seed is what led me to switch gears and learn more about nutrition & health and pursue a degree to create this career path so that I could help myself and others break away from all these unhealthy rules and live with more freedom and power to dictate your health.
Now my mission is to help you ditch the diets so you can feel in control of your body, your health & your life so that you can dedicate yourself to enjoying time with your family, focusing on your career ambitions and the things that bring you joy. 
Let me know if you can relate to this.💜
What restrictions did you set for yourself when it comes to food and diet?
👇🏼Comment below and share👇🏼😊
Or if you’re more private, send me a DM. I’d be thrilled to hear from you 😊

06/02/2021

Nice to meet you!👋🏻
I’m Alan.
I am a Board Certified Family Physician in Orange County with over 25 years of experience in the healthcare field.👨🏻‍⚕️🩺
I strongly believe in educating and teaching my patients the value of preventive medicine by combining lifestyle medicine with traditional medical care. I cannot stress the value of healthy nutrition, regular movement and stress management practices enough!
With my current team, I hope to give my patients the tools to steer away from “sick care” and feel empowered to practice healthy habits that work from the inside out.😊
Don't forget to follow us on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/nili.mindbody.wellness/
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