Ian Gibbs, M.S.

Ian Gibbs promotes health education to improve the physical health and mental well being

I am an experienced and qualified OIF/OEF Veteran with an established history of working in the health and wellness industry. I specialize in health education and alternative medicine with in depth knowledge of health promotion planning and evaluation, Program design and administration for health and wellness management, research methods in health and human services, sales strategies, social media marketing, and operational planning. I am a dedicated, hardworking, disciplined and ambitious health professional with a Master of Science (MS) focused in Sports and Health Science from American Military University.

11/18/2025

As the air continues to cool and the leaves change colors, we naturally shift toward cooking warm and comforting meals. Now is the perfect time to discover fall-inspired spices and their potential health benefits.

Cinnamon
Cinnamon is not just for your overnight oats and pumpkin spice candles. Beyond its yummy scent, cinnamon can help steady blood sugar levels by improving how the body uses insulin. It’s also packed with antioxidants that may help fight inflammation. Try adding a pinch in your morning coffee, to roasted sweet potatoes, or on top of peanut butter and banana toast.

Nutmeg
Often overlooked and reserved for pumpkin pie, nutmeg deserves recognition all by itself. It contains compounds that may aid digestion and support brain health. Its subtle sweetness pairs well with creamy textures, like roasted cauliflower, butternut squash soup, or your favorite winter sauce. You need only a small amount.

Cloves
Cloves, another spicy powerhouse, are one of the most concentrated sources of antioxidants in your spice cabinet. Cloves have long been used to soothe sore throats and ease toothaches, and they have anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial properties, making them a smart addition to any dish during flu season. Stir a few whole cloves into mulled cider or black tea, or sprinkle some ground cloves into pickled beets or squash soup for a little spicy kick.

Tumeric
This vibrant yellow spice contains antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, and antioxidant properties. Research has explored turmeric’s role in easing joint pain, reducing muscle soreness, and supporting heart health. It is the star of golden milk, or haldi doodh, a blend of turmeric, milk of your choice, and honey (optional but popular). The Ayurvedic beverage, prized for its anti-inflammatory effects, is now gaining popularity in the West as a coffee alternative. Turmeric is a delicious, colorful addition to stews, chili, grain dishes, eggs, tofu, and roasted vegetables.

Ginger
Ginger brings warmth and wellness to your dishes. It contains compounds that may help reduce inflammation, support digestion, and ease nausea. Whether fresh or dried and ground, ginger is great for your immune system and gut health. Try adding a slice of fresh ginger to your tea, tossing it into a stir-fry, or blending it into a carrot soup for zesty flavor.

While it can be tempting to seek these benefits through supplements, it’s generally best, and far more enjoyable, to incorporate spices into delicious meals and snacks.Taking high doses in supplement form can sometimes have negative effects, so moderation is key, and more isn’t always better.

These fall inspired spices do more than make food taste good; they can help your body thrive through the changing season. When you reach for your spices this fall, think of them as nature’s medicine, full of wellness and flavor!

———————————————————————————-

Cozy Fall Spice Soup

A spicy soup to help support digestion, reduce inflammation, and warm you up this fall.

Ingredients (serves 5-6):

1 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp fresh or ground ginger
1 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp cloves (ground or whole)
4 cups chopped butternut squash, pumpkin, or your favorite winter squash (peeled and deseeded)
2 cups carrots, chopped
4 cups vegetable broth
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions
Heat oil in a pot. Sauté onion and garlic until soft.
Stir in ginger, turmeric, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves; cook for 1 minute.
Add squash, carrots, and broth. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 20 minutes or until vegetables are soft.
Blend with an immersion blender or in a blender or food processor until smooth (you might need to do it in batches). Season with salt and pepper. Serve warm.

07/24/2025

📱 Trying to choose a health app in 2025 is like picking a Netflix show—you scroll for 45 minutes and still don’t decide. 🤷‍♂️

🔍 Look for:

1. User-friendly tracking
2. Syncing with your wearable device
3. Motivation features (badges are life!)
4. Data you actually understand and use

💡 Bonus: some apps offer personalized coaching, goal setting, and habit tracking so it’s like having a wellness coach in your pocket.

When tech meets health, magic happens. Choose your app like your goals depend on it! Well, because they kinda do.

07/21/2025

🏋️‍♀️ Every body is different... so why are you doing Chad’s gym routine from Instagram? 😅

🎯 Find a program that matches YOUR goals:

1. Want strength? Go for progressive overload.
2. Want endurance? Cardio intervals might be your jam.
3. Want to look good and feel good? Combine both!

📆 Consistency matters more than perfection. And no, you don’t need to be sore to know it’s working.

Ditch the ‘one-size-fits-all’ mindset and tailor your training like a custom suit. 💪

07/18/2025

😴 Tossing and turning like a rotisserie chicken at 2 a.m.? Try this:

* Power down electronics 1 hour before bed (sorry, TikTok)

* Create a bedtime routine like you're prepping for a spa night

* Sip some herbal tea

😵‍💫 Poor sleep doesn't just make you cranky, it disrupts hormone balance, increases cravings, messes with your memory, and even impacts immune function.

💤 Start small: turn down the lights, avoid large meals close to bedtime, and use white noise or a calming scent like lavender.

🧠 Sleep is your body's favorite recovery tool so make it a priority.

07/14/2025

🍔 Caught in the fast food lane? You can still make healthy choices!

🏃‍♂️ Tips for Eating Healthy On the Go:

- Choose grilled over fried
- Skip the soda and go for water
- Load up on veggies whenever possible
- Watch out for hidden sugars in sauces and dressings

🕒 No time? No problem. Many fast food chains now have nutrition calculators online. Check ahead, order smart, and keep your goals in sight.

Fast food doesn’t have to mean poor nutrition. Your health journey can still roll through the drive-thru! Just be strategic!

07/11/2025

🧘‍♀️ Eating is more than chewing, it's a full sensory experience. Enter: Mindful Eating. 🍽️

👀 Watch your food, chew slowly, and savor every bite.

🛑 Put the phone down and eat with intention.

😌 Mindful eating helps you avoid overeating, improves digestion, and reconnects you with food.

🍓 Try this at your next meal: Put down your fork between bites. Chew more than you think you should. Describe your food in your head like a food critic.

🚫 No guilt, no rush, just real nourishment, one bite at a time.

07/07/2025

🔍 Confused by nutrition labels? You’re not alone!

Top things to look for:
✅ Serving Size
✅ Added Sugars
✅ Fiber & Protein Content

📦 Manufacturers love sneaky tactics: small fonts, confusing claims ('natural', 'low-fat'), and serving sizes that don’t match reality. Your secret weapon? The ingredients list and nutrient breakdown.

🥴 If sugar is in the top 3 ingredients (or hiding as 5 different names), consider a better option.
🧠 Knowledge is power. And in this case, t’s the power to shop smarter and feel better.

Reading labels = smarter food choices!

06/30/2025

🚫 Skip the fad diets and focus on making sustainable, healthy nutritional choices. 🍎

✅ Tip: Start by adding more whole foods like fruits, veggies, lean proteins, and whole grains to your plate.

💡 Small, consistent changes lead to long-term results.

🥗 Fad diets promise quick wins, but they often fail to teach you how to eat for real life. Eating should be joyful, not stressful.

Try the 80/20 rule: eat nutrient-rich foods most of the time, and allow room for treats so nothing ever feels “off-limits.”

👉 Let’s build habits that nourish and last!

06/30/2025

99.9% of us have tried dieting at least once.

Maybe you'll even stuck with it for a week or two.

But then life happens and everything becomes unraveled.

So what do you do???

06/27/2025

Stop starving yourself just to see results! Eating less is NOT the only way to lose weight!!

Volume Eating is a smart and sustainable approach where you eat more food but from the right sources. Think high volume, low-calorie options like leafy greens, fresh veggies, lean proteins, and fruits that keep you fuller longer without the calorie overload.

Now look at the image:

On one plate, you have a large, colorful salad filled with leafy greens, crunchy veggies, and lean grilled chicken. On the other, just a few pieces of fried food.
Guess what? The salad has fewer calories but fills you up way more and it’s packed with fiber, nutrients, and protein.

This is a perfect example of how you can eat more food and still support your weight loss or wellness goals.

🙌 You don’t have to be hungry to be healthy.
🥦 You don’t have to skip meals or give up flavor.
❤️ You don’t have to deprive yourself to make progress.

You don't need to shrink your portions! Just consider changing the types of food on your plate!!

06/25/2025

Ever wonder why you're not seeing results even though you're eating “healthy”? 🤔

Caloric Expenditure, aka the total number of calories your body burns each day. Think of it like your body's energy bill. You pay for it in calories, not cash.

🔍 So, what makes up your total caloric burn? It’s not just your workouts.....

✅ BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate): Calories you burn just to stay alive. This involves breathing, circulating blood, etc.

✅ TEF (Thermic Effect of Food): The calories your body uses just to digest your food.

✅ EAT (Exercise Activity Thermogenesis): The calories burned through workouts.

✅ NEAT (Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis): Everyday movement from fidgeting, walking, chores, dancing in your kitchen 🎶

🧮 Want to Calculate Your Caloric Burn?

💡 Once you know your BMR, multiply it by your activity level:

Sedentary: ×1.2
Lightly active: ×1.375
Moderately active: ×1.55
Very active: ×1.725
Extra active: ×1.9

If you're aiming to lose, gain, or maintain weight then understanding how your body uses energy can help you fuel smarter, move with purpose, and live well. 🙌

🛠 Tips for Staying on Track
✨ Track what you eat. Use an app or journal.
✨ Move more. Take the stairs. Walk during calls.
✨ Strength train. Muscle burns more calories at rest.
✨ Hydrate. Water helps with digestion and metabolism.
✨ Sleep and stress matter. Poor sleep or high stress = lower metabolism.
✨ Stay consistent. Be patient. Long-term > quick fixes.
✨ Get support. Tell friends or hire a pro (RD, coach, trainer)

06/20/2025

Caffeine is one of the most widely consumed stimulants on the planet, and for good reason. Its found naturally in over 60 different plants, and it’s best known through your daily dose of coffee, tea, or energy drinks. But what’s really going on when you take that first sip?

Let’s break it down…..

⚙️ How Caffeine Works in the Brain

While you’re awake, a molecule called adenosine builds up in the brain, making you feel tired. Caffeine mimics adenosine and blocks its receptors, preventing that sleepy signal from getting through. This also boosts dopamine production, enhancing mood, alertness, and brain function.

🧠 Brain Benefits of Coffee

Not only does caffeine keep you alert, but regular consumption may also offer long-term health benefits:

• Drinking 3–5 cups of coffee a day could reduce the risk of degenerative brain diseases by up to 60%.

• Consuming 1–4 cups daily may reduce the risk of heart disease by 16–18%.

• Coffee drinkers have been shown to have a 29% lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes.

🏋️‍♂️ Caffeine and Performance: The Fat-Burning Bonus

Caffeine is a known ergogenic aid. It enhances physical performance and it reduces perceived effort and fatigue, helping you train harder and longer. It also stimulates adrenaline, which releases stored fat into the bloodstream to be used for energy.

But let’s be real, even at 300 mg per day, caffeine only helps burn around 79 additional calories, so it’s not a magic fat burner. However, it’s still a staple in most fat burning supplements.

⚠️ Tolerance & Timing Matter

Regular caffeine use builds up a tolerance, especially to its stimulating effects. After a while, you might only feel the anti-sleep effect without the same energy or focus boost.

Here’s what you should know:

- Caffeine has a half-life of ~6 hours. So if you drink 200 mg at 7 AM, 100 mg remains at 1 PM, and 50 mg is still lingering by 7 PM.

- To avoid disrupting your sleep, it’s best to stop caffeine 6–8 hours before bed.

Want to reset your sensitivity? Take a month long break from caffeine. You’ll come back feeling it like it’s your first cup all over again.

💧 The Diuretic Myth

Despite popular belief, caffeine does not dehydrate you. Its diuretic effect is very mild, and drinks like coffee, tea, and energy drinks still count toward your daily hydration needs. That said, don’t skip the water! Your body still needs it!

📏 How Much Is Too Much?

A healthy daily caffeine range is around 3–5 mg per kilogram of body weight.

For someone weighing about 176 lbs, that’s 200–400 mg of caffeine daily. Which is roughly:
• ☕ 1 Venti Americano
• 🥤 3–5 cans of Red Bull

Using caffeine as a pre-workout? Take it 30–60 minutes before training for best results.

My Final Thoughts

Caffeine is more than just a productivity booster, it’s a scientifically supported compound that can enhance mental clarity, performance, and even long term health when consumed responsibly.

Just remember: moderation, smart timing, and the occasional tolerance break can help you get the most out of it. As always, stay healthy friends 🫡

Address

San Antonio, TX

Website

http://www.linkedin.com/in/IanGibbsMS

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