Susan Alsembach - Understanding Nutrition

Susan Alsembach - Understanding Nutrition Tired of being tired? Struggling with that afternoon slump? I help professionals increase their energy and lose weight so they can thrive not survive.

Ready to ditch the guilt, and the blame/shame game? Let's focus on YOU and how food can work for you.

12/22/2025

Let’s not add more stress to the holiday!!!!

The holidays are a moment in time for us to indulge, relax and enjoy good food and good company.

For our health and nutrition, it’s about remembering the bigger picture. What really matters is what happens between New Year and Christmas 🤶

So, I’m going to be enjoying all sorts of decadent foods, with no shame and no guilt, just pure pleasure 😋

In the New Year I’ll embrace the normality of good food and keep moving forward in a way the works for me.



There are so many misconceptions out there about what to eat and what to avoid. This in turn creates stress and anxiety ...
12/17/2025

There are so many misconceptions out there about what to eat and what to avoid.

This in turn creates stress and anxiety when food should be about :

💛 Caring - taking some time - we’re not talking hours in the kitchen here 😜
♥️ Enjoyment - of the flavours, smells and texture
💙Nourishment - body and soul
💚Connection - with the ones you’re sharing that meal with

This is one of my family’s favourite meals and a go to on those cold winter evening.

What’s your favourite go to?

A Client's Transformative JourneyThis year, I've guided many clients to better wellness using functional nutrition princ...
12/15/2025

A Client's Transformative Journey
This year, I've guided many clients to better wellness using functional nutrition principles, but one 35-year-old man's progress stands out in his metrics.

He started with elevated markers from inflammation and poor meal timing dating back 15 years. After just 3 months of simple tweaks— switching to whole grains and eating them when he needed them, introducing anti-inflammatory foods like fatty fish, berries, and turmeric at optimal times synced to his cycles—his results were remarkable.

Key Metric Improvements
Here's how his bloodwork shifted, highlighting liver health, cholesterol balance, and blood sugar control:

Metric Before After 3 Months
ALT (liver enzyme) 92 63
Total Cholesterol 7.43 6.47
HDL (good cholesterol) 0.74 0.86
A1c (blood sugar) 6.3 6.00
Triglycerides 4.44 2.9
LDL 4.66 4.33

At the end of the 3 months, he had more energy, was working out at the gym, had more mental clarity, and was slowly losing weight.

Partnership was key: we worked together, listening, working through difficulties, and finding things that worked for him and his lifestyle. Understanding and helping him gain a fundamental knowledge of how his body functions.

Education was key: Functional nutrition helped him understand how stress, sleep, and seasons influence nutrient processing, leading to sustainable change. Ready to unlock your body's potential? Share your biggest health cycle challenge below!

12/12/2025

On a souvent tendance à penser qu’être ballonné et inconfortable est tout à fait normal.

Il y a trois choses qu’on peut faire pour soulager cet inconfort 😳

Une fois qu’on sait c’est pas compliquer 😊



I feel that the food industry has really let us down. As a functional nutritionist, mother, and wife, this reality makes...
12/10/2025

I feel that the food industry has really let us down. As a functional nutritionist, mother, and wife, this reality makes me both deeply sad and incredibly angry.

Research from Northeastern University’s Network Science Institute, looking at retailers like Walmart, Target, and Whole Foods Market, shows that roughly 70% of the food supply is ultra‑processed. These products are modified and engineered to increase shelf life, desirability, and profitability for companies—not to support our health.

We’ve been led to believe things like:

We need to eat constantly and snack all day to “have energy” and get through the day, a belief heavily driven by clever marketing.

Stripping real foods of core components and then adding back isolated nutrients like “extra fiber” or “added iron” somehow makes them healthy.

Labels such as “no added sugar” or “light” automatically mean a product is good for us, even when the ingredient list is full of other sweeteners and additives.

If a package says “healthy,” it must be good for our bodies.

My question is: why is this allowed to happen, and why isn’t our government doing more to protect public health?

In many countries, including Canada and the U.S., food labelling and marketing are regulated, but there are still wide gaps that allow ultra‑processed products to be positioned as healthy choices. This is wrong. As the health of our nation declines, food company profits continue to rise. This needs to change. Good, truly nourishing food should be accessible to everyone.

If you’re reading this and feeling overwhelmed, you are not alone. Start with small steps: read ingredient lists, choose more minimally processed foods, and question the health claims on packages.

If you’d like guidance navigating all of this—for yourself, your family, or your workplace—I’m here to help. Reach out if you’d like support in building a way of eating that truly serves your health.

12/08/2025

It Doesn't Have To Be Perfect To Work!

When it comes to nutrition and lifestyle, it’s so easy to fall into a few common traps.

We try to get everything “right,” forgetting there’s really no perfect way — it’s about finding what works for 'you'.

We tell ourselves if it’s not all done perfectly, we’ve failed somehow — ourselves or even our families. But that’s just not true. We’re human, and there are only so many hours in a day.

And sometimes we focus so much on the little daily slip-ups that we forget to zoom out and see the bigger picture. One off day (or even a few!) doesn’t undo all the good you’ve built. Don't be beat yourself and realise this could just be a bad patch and go with it.

When you notice yourself slipping into those thoughts, pause and:
- Do one small thing just for 'you' — a nourishing meal, a short walk, a few deep breaths, drink a glass of water.
- When small worries feel big, take a moment to zoom out — ask yourself, 'Will this still matter next week or next month?' Usually, the answer is no.
- Remember that health is a long game built on consistency and self-compassion, not perfection.

Keep showing up, giving yourself some grace, and focusing on progress over perfection — that’s where the real, lasting change happens.

12/05/2025

Dans ma clinic, je vois trop souvent des gens qui font des régimes restrictifs, qui ne conviennent pas du tout à leur rhythm hormonal.

Donc, ils sont tout le temps en contre sens avec les rythmes naturels de leur corp ☀️, ce qui crée un stress mental et physique qui n’est pas adapté à leur besoin personnel.

Quand on comprends mieux ces rythmes, il est beaucoup plus facile de bien manger, perdre du poids, et se sentir mieux dans sa peau 😊



One thing I talk about a lot with clients: your gut and your brain are not separate. They’re in constant conversation, a...
12/03/2025

One thing I talk about a lot with clients: your gut and your brain are not separate. They’re in constant conversation, and your symptoms are often the “language” they use to get your attention.

This is called the gut–brain axis – a two‑way communication system between your digestive tract, your nervous system, and the trillions of microbes that live in your gut. When that system is inflamed or out of balance, it doesn’t just show up as bloating or cramps. It can look like anxiety, low mood, brain fog, poor sleep, and feeling “wired and tired.”

Here are some patterns that make me think about the gut–brain link in my work:

IBS‑style symptoms that flare when life stress ramps up

Mood dips, overwhelm, or fogginess that travel alongside gut issues

Loose stools with anxiety, or constipation when everything feels “stuck” in life too

Your bowel movements are one of the best clues we have. When we use something like the Bristol Stool Chart, we’re not just talking about p**p for fun. We’re looking at what’s happening inside – is everything moving too fast to absorb well, or so slow that you feel heavy, uncomfortable, and toxic? Those patterns help guide very practical changes in fibre, hydration, fermented foods, and nervous system support.

From a functional nutrition perspective, supporting mental health often starts with supporting the gut:

Building a more colourful, fibre‑rich plate to nourish your microbiome

Balancing blood sugar so your brain and nervous system feel more steady

Layering in realistic, doable tools for stress, movement, and sleep that fit your actual life

If you’ve noticed that your mood and your digestion seem to rise and fall together, you’re not “crazy” and you’re not alone. Your body is communicating. This is the work I do with clients: helping you decode those messages, calm the gut–brain conversation, and feel more like yourself again.

When I’m working with clients, I almost always start in the same place: the gut.Your gut sits right in the middle of you...
12/01/2025

When I’m working with clients, I almost always start in the same place: the gut.

Your gut sits right in the middle of your body for a reason. It’s not just a food tube – it’s a home base for digestion, immunity, hormones, and even a big part of your “feel good” brain chemistry. When things are off there, it rarely stays just about bloating or bathroom habits.

Here's how it often shows up:
“Bad” gut days: bloating, gas, heartburn, cramps, constipation or loose stools, fatigue after meals, brain fog, random skin flares, achy joints, more frequent colds.
“Better” gut days: comfortable digestion, regular easy bowel movements, steadier energy and mood, and a more resilient immune system.

One of my favourite tools in practice is the Bristol Stool Chart – not because p**p is glamorous, but because it’s honest. Your bowel movements are a real‑time reflection of what’s happening inside: hydration, fibre, microbiome balance, bile flow, and inflammation. Once you learn to “read” them, you start to see patterns instead of random bad days.

From a functional nutrition lens, this is where we do the real work together:

Building in more diverse fibre, colours, and plant foods
Using targeted nutrients to support the gut lining and microbiome
Looking at stress, sleep, and movement so your gut isn’t always in survival mode.

If your gut has been trying to get your attention lately, that’s your body asking for support, not shouting for another quick fix.

This is exactly what I help clients with: starting at the centre (the gut) so the rest of you can finally feel like it’s working with you again.



These are food products are designed (note designed not grown!) for crave ability, using oils, salt, hidden sugars, and ...
11/28/2025

These are food products are designed (note designed not grown!) for crave ability, using oils, salt, hidden sugars, and fats to highjack our sense of satiety, thus leading to overeating.

Foods such as veggies, 🥒 whole grained, protein and healthy fats, digest slowly and are full of nutrients that signal to your brain « I’m good ».

Easy swaps:

Candy - nuts and fruit
Potatoes chips- cut veggies and cream cheese



Have you ever noticed how eating a wholesome meal leaves you feeling satisfied and nourished, while grabbing a bag of ch...
11/27/2025

Have you ever noticed how eating a wholesome meal leaves you feeling satisfied and nourished, while grabbing a bag of chips can leave you craving more just an hour later?

That difference comes down to satiety—the feeling of fullness and satisfaction after eating.

Whole foods, like vegetables, legumes, lean proteins, and whole grains, naturally contain fiber, water, and nutrients that activate our body’s satiety signals. They take longer to chew, digest, and absorb, giving your brain time to register that you’ve had enough.

Ultra-processed foods (UPFs), on the other hand, are engineered for taste and convenience. They often combine refined carbs, fats, and salt in a way that stimulates pleasure and overrides the body’s natural “I’m full” signals—leaving us more likely to overeat.

Tuning back into satiety starts with building meals that include:

Real, minimally processed foods

Balanced sources of protein, fiber, and healthy fats

Mindful eating—slowing down to notice how food makes you feel

Our appetite isn’t just about calories—it’s communication between our body and brain. When we honor that signal with real food, we support not only digestion, but energy, mood, and long-term well-being.

What are your favorite meals that genuinely keep you satisfied for hours?

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My philosophy

I will help you make sense of food. Are you tired, craving sugary foods, looking to lose weight but don’t know where to start? You deserve to eat well with meals plans that work for you. Meal planning can be stressful, as a Registered Holistic Nutritionist with a background in Nursing, I will work with you so that you will be able to thrive instead of survive. No counting calories just tasty food to give you back your energy and lose that weight!