Eat Well, Age Well: Metabolic Health & Nutrition

SPEAKER_01 0:00

Welcome to the Boomers, Bucks, and Bling Podcast, where we turn retirement planning into a bit of a thrill ride. I'm your host, Carl Spoterian. Each week we'll dive into everything from reversed mortgages and staying put in style to Medicare, Social Security, and Home Safety. But wait, there's more. We're not just going to talk all about money and business. We're going to add some sparkle, some bling, as we chat with travel pros, party planners, and a lot of different topics that's going to help you make the most of your golden years. So grab a cup of tea or whatever it is you want to drink, get comfy, and let's make retirement planning an adventure of a lifetime. Good morning and welcome to this edition of Boomers Bucks and Bling. Today we are we're honored, we're privileged to have Michaela Davis. She runs a company called Soul of Nutrition and Fitness. And she she's here to talk about nutrition and fitness because as we age, our our bodies start to change, and they have been changing probably quite a while, but uh more changes may be in effect at this point. So, Michaela, why don't you tell us a little bit about yourself and a little bit about what you do?

SPEAKER_00 1:06

Absolutely. Yes, thank you for having me. Great to be here. Um, so I am a certified nutrition specialist, a licensed dietitian, nutritionist, and I basically uh see clients all week long. I run a telehealth company business uh as a nutritionist. Um, so I work with my business, Soul of Nutrition and Fitness, and then I also work with um affiliate companies such as Barry Street and um feel good eats as a nutritionist that sees their clients as well.

SPEAKER_01 1:43

Okay, yeah. So why don't you tell us a little bit about our our metabolism and what is metabolic health?

SPEAKER_00 1:51

Yes.

SPEAKER_01 1:52

I have no idea.

SPEAKER_00 1:54

So that is something that I uh greatly pay attention to is metabolic health and metabolic functioning. So metabolism itself, you know, they you might hear people saying, Oh, I'm getting older, my metabolism is uh is not working so good anymore. But actually, metabolism kind of stays relatively the same between 20 and 60 years old. Um, it basically is like chemical processes in the body that's basically keeping us alive. So things such as um uh maintaining temperature, um uh cell repair, tissue repair, and building, um, you know, uh metabolizing nutrients and and creating energy in the in the body. So that's metabolism. And then metabolic health is actually stepping back and looking at so think of metabolism as like the engine, like our process.

SPEAKER_01 2:55

Okay, so it's a car engine, a car engine, right?

SPEAKER_00 2:58

Car engine. And metabolic health is looking at how that engine is actually running. Like, is it running optimally? Is it running good? So there's uh markers that I like to look at that kind of judges the strength of one's metabolic health. So one would be like blood pressure, another would be um uh blood sugars, um, another would be like your lipid metabolism, so cholesterol, total cholesterol and triglycerides and HDL, all that stuff. And then I'm also looking at waist circumference, like how much uh weight are we carrying around our midsection? So there are certain markers that indicate like uh how well it could be running, and and maybe if we need to work on some things to improve metabolic health.

SPEAKER_01 3:48

Okay, so so you discover something. Yes, uh weight, weight around the midsection. That seems like probably a fairly common challenge. So what are some what are some ways to kind of counteract that? Or are there, or is it just part of it?

SPEAKER_00 4:06

So uh waist circumference for women, I'm looking for like 35 inches and under, for men like 40 inches and under. So when waist circumference is kind of higher than that, um, I'm thinking, oh, we might have some fatty liver going on, or you know, just um so that's like um liver fat, you should say. So uh people who might drink too much alcohol or dr or eat too many carbohydrates or unhealthy foods um can increase liver fat. And that is a very um inflammatory state. Um, and we want to reverse that. So by losing or trying to get rid of that liver fat by lifestyle changes and um nutritional changes, things like you know, exercise and getting good sleep and all that. Um, but that is an indicator of uh um kind of weaker metabolic health, and we want to um turn that around.

SPEAKER_01 5:16

So what you said dietary changes. So I I know and again, I'm not asking to give any specific advice here. We're just kind of having a conversation, right? So, you know, I but but what would be something like a fatty liver? What would what would be a uh health of a food, I guess, that would kind of help or change in diet that would kind of help with that?

SPEAKER_00 5:36

Yeah, so um I actually like to start with clients teaching them about macronutrients. So these are what our foods are made out of. There's three of them. So you've heard of protein and carbohydrates and fats. And so really understanding the makeup of your plate, because um, if we don't understand that, we might have plates just full of things like carbohydrates. And are they healthy carbohydrates or are they more processed carbohydrates? Um, so over time, in excess of you know, things like carbs and um unhealthy fats and all that, um the you know, it's energy, right? So energy can't be destroyed or it has to be used or stored. And so um when our like subcutaneous fat, like our our fat storage zones kind of get overfull, then our liver starts storing fat um to kind of have that. So, and and that's not um that's not the healthiest thing. So we want to do things like um balancing our meals with first protein and then making sure we have some fiber on the plate. Um, there is space for you know starchy carbs and all that stuff, but we really want to um give a good emphasis on making sure we're getting enough protein in our diets and getting enough um fiber in our diets that that kind of helps balance out um some of that excess cholesterol or um and horm and um and uh uh digestive health and and keeping our gut healthy and all that stuff with fiber. Um, protein is like the building blocks of of everything, you know, it's um skin, muscle, bones, you know, um all the enzymes and functions happening in the body. A lot of that is driven through protein and all that stuff. So we want to make sure our plates have a good amount of protein and some fiber, and um and slowly but surely some of that liver fat will start uh coming off because the body doesn't necessarily want that there.

SPEAKER_01 7:50

Yeah. Yeah, okay. So what about if we we just take a shortcut to all that and uh maybe use a GLP one?

SPEAKER_00 7:58

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 7:59

So where do we go from there? Yeah, probably talk for an hour on this, huh?

SPEAKER_00 8:04

I know, yeah, because they they have hit the market like a storm. And and you know, uh a lot of us um we're kind of skeptical about it. But as time has gone on, like there's actually a lot of benefit that can come from these GLP ones. Um not everybody's the best candidate, but a lot of people are, especially when it comes to having issues with making lifestyle changing, lasting lifestyle changes. This can kind of help give you an extra boost with that. So um GLP1 basically is it's mimicking a hormone that our body already produces. When we eat a satiating meal such with protein and fiber and healthy fats in it, our body naturally uh produces GLP1 and it tells our brain, it signals to things that we're full, we're good, and and it allows us to slowly digest that food and you know, so on and so forth. So GLP1 basically um tells us that we're full and it's going to slow down digestion. And with that in mind, uh like hopefully the individual won't, you know, snack and eat mindlessly throughout the day, they'll feel satiated. And because of that, that may put them in a deficit and a calorie deficit, and and they can lose weight. Um, one of the controversies with that though is that uh people would tend to lose you know muscle mass and um uh along with fat mass. And one thing is muscle mass is really important for longevity, metabolic health overall. So um when it comes to the GLP ones, you know, we don't want to lose, especially as we're aging gracefully, we don't want to lose our muscle mass. We want to be eating enough protein and doing resistance training and staying active to try to maintain muscle mass as much as possible. Um, muscle mass is a big uh thing that uh balances out our glucose levels and um and keeps us healthy. It keeps our immune system um vibrant and alive. So training muscle mass and um and eating enough protein is gonna work well with a GLP one.

SPEAKER_01 10:36

So so with GLP1 then, you're going to exercise. Is that is that what I'm hearing? And then you're gonna add protein because that strengthens the muscle mass?

SPEAKER_00 10:50

Is that yeah, so protein, um so exercise stimulates uh muscle growth, and the protein is going to add to that growth. So it's because that's what the muscle is made out of, right? It's it's uh protein, amino acid. So uh we want that to feed the muscle as we're stimulating it with the exercise. Yeah. What we don't want to do is exercise and not be uh properly nutritioned with that, with you know, not getting enough protein and all that stuff, because then it can uh go in the other direction. It might not be it might be more stressful um if we're not properly fueled uh doing those exercises.

SPEAKER_01 11:38

So so I have a challenge, right? I sit behind a desk a lot of day a lot of my day and work on transactions and files. As everybody knows, I'm kind of a reverse mortgage specialist, so a lot of my day is spent either on the phone or in person with with clients and then pick the big work that follows. So sitting at a desk, you tend to want to snack. I I do anyway, right? There's always gotta you gotta be doing the chewing piece of gum or whatever it is you're doing. So, how bad is snacking when you're when you're taking GLP1 versus you know trying to beat all the other stuff that's going on.

SPEAKER_00 12:17

Well, for one, if you're on GLP1, you're likely not gonna want to snap because it kind of removes the urge to want to eat a lot. Uh, some of my GLP1 people, I have to make sure they're even eating enough because we don't want them to have nutrition. We still need the vitamins and minerals that are coming from the mic, the macronutrients. Um, so you'll likely not want to snack too much, but if you're say not on the GLP1 and you're kind of munching throughout the day, um, that can be kind of detrimental to metabolic health, especially if you're not like active. Um, I think snacking is better for somebody who's quite active, who's because, like I said, that food is energy and you know it's it's gotta be put somewhere. Is it are you gonna use it or is it gonna get stored away? And so um people tend to easily put on weight with that kind of habit. So one thing I do like though is something called exercise snacks, where you get up from the desk and you go do maybe 10 to 20 squats or maybe 20 seconds of jumping jacks, or you know, some lunges on each side, and then you can sit back down and get to work, you know, maybe doing that every 90 minutes or so just to kind of keep things moving. So those snacks I'm I'm on board with, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 13:51

What else about GLP1? Anything that we need to be concerned with or anything that we need to know? Because a lot of I'm sure a lot of our audience are are taking. I mean, it's it's it's pretty much taking over the medicine, is what I understand.

SPEAKER_00 14:05

Yeah, and they're coming out with new ones. There's a new one that's gonna hit the market probably early next year. Um and uh so but you know, they're good. So for the most part, um they basically help you to kind of learn how to not overeat. You know, you're you're eating enough, you're satiated, and you're you're up, you're moving, you're doing things. So it allows you to be in that calorie deficit to allow for like a weight loss. Um, now with someone who is, you know, maybe over the age of 50, you know, and women especially, like uh, we we tend to deal with things like osteoporosis, especially if we haven't been training our muscles and and bone health and all that stuff. And um one thing about the GLP one, that's that's my only issue, especially as we we age, is that we want to make sure we're we're getting enough uh protein and exercise and and water and all those things so that we're not just in this huge deficit all the time. Um, because with that, we're not only losing fat, we're losing muscle, bone is is weakening. And um, that is two things that you know we want to have as we age gracefully is good muscle and good bone. Um and you know, just working with someone uh with that GLP one, I think is really important. Uh, there's a lot of sites where you can just kind of get it offline, I I see now, but I feel like having a professional to work with you on that GLP one is really important.

SPEAKER_01 15:58

Somewhat like getting a mortgage, right? You you you can go online and just take it or you can get advice and make it make it work well for you. Yeah, real important. So um what what about what about gut health? I hear a lot about gut health, and and frankly, I I don't know. I mean what is gut health?

SPEAKER_00 16:20

What is gut health? Yeah, gut health. So this is actually also like this is your engine right there. Your your gut is kind of fueling everything. Um, and we want it to be optimal. And there's there's signs that I always ask for when I meet a new client, asking them symptoms like do you get bloating? Do you have a lot of gas? Do you get reflux? Um, you know, are you constipated, diarrhea? These are all things that kind of let me know how your gut is kind of functioning, the health of that. Um, and if that's off, that's one of the first things that I want to adjust. Um, is making sure bowel movements are regular, making sure we're not regurgitating, you know, refluxing our foods and all that stuff. We want it's supposed to flow from here out, not any other direction. Um, and it's not supposed to get stuck either. Um, and that is actually one, I should say, one of the side effects I see a lot with the GLP ones is people get real constipated uh because it does tend to slow down digestion. So really important to be drinking water and having movement and eating enough fiber. But gut health is like 70% of our immune system is in our gut, so it's it's huge. Um and you have to think about it as actually the the the gut, that tube is considered the outside of your body. What passes through it into our body is now coming into the body. And so um the the the lining of the gut is surrounded by immune, it's also surrounded by um cells that allow in nutrients, right? That our body needs. And um, there's also tons of bacteria in there. Uh, the microbiome is what um you may have heard. And depending on what we put into our body and feed the body, it kind of changes that microbiome over. And um, there's a lot of things that uh we get from the microbiome that our body can't make itself. So eating fiber, like fiber itself, um, fiber, by the way, is considered a carbohydrate, but fiber uh is coming from all of our plants and our nuts or seeds or beans coming from the trees and from the ground. Um it's carbohydrate, so it breaks down to sugar, but they have fiber in it, right? And fiber can't be absorbed into the body. Our body doesn't digest fiber. So fiber is either eaten by the gut bugs, those uh that microbiome, or you know, it's also helping shovel poop along, you know. Um, so when the the microbiome eats that fiber, they release things um called like short chain fatty acids. They are really beneficial to health, um, things that we can't produce on our own, but um it it um it manipulates brain health, um just overall functioning. And so uh we want to make sure we're fueling those guys correctly. And uh though that comes from a diversity of plants that we eat, um, you know, different kinds of vegetables and seeds and nuts and fruits and stuff like that. So if if say those things aren't in the diet, um the the microbiome might not uh you know it it might not favor certain things and and uh you might start seeing certain gut disruptions and all that stuff. Um, but it's very individual as well. Uh no one microbiome is the same, but we want to make sure we have you know good gut diversity with food if our guts can handle it um to make sure we're having a good microbiome that can help fuel us and all that, all that challenge.

SPEAKER_01 20:30

A little complicated there.

SPEAKER_00 20:31

It is a little complicated.

SPEAKER_01 20:33

Um I'm trying to dumb it down, but um so I I also have heard, and I've actually tried um fasting, you know, intermittent fasting, fasting, all kinds of different variants of that. What what are your thoughts on that?

SPEAKER_00 20:52

Yeah, um, I think fasting is really part of a regular day. Um, not necessarily so there's time restricted eating and there's intermittent fasting, right? So uh time restricted eating is kind of like eating within a certain time. You know, we we have a period that we're probably not eating. I always say in general, um 12 hours on, 12 hours off at least. So we have a eating window of 12 hours during the day, and and then we have a fasting window of 12 hours on the other half of the day. That other 12 hours of fasting at least allows our body to kind of digest things and repair itself, and um, because otherwise we we just become this food processor where we're never able to just like digest things and like focus on uh just body repair and all that other stuff. So we allow for that to happen usually overnight when we're sleeping and whatnot. Um, I think that's essential. Um, but things. Things like you've extended fast. Um, I think they can be beneficial for certain people, certain circumstances, things like three-day fast, or you know, um, but I can see how cranky I would get in a three-day fast, you know.

SPEAKER_01 22:16

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 22:16

I don't I don't know if it's very necessary for the majority of us, um, you know, unless there's a certain reason that we're trying to do that. Um, because after a certain point, you know, the body does start breaking down muscle and other things for energy and like we want to maintain muscle, especially as we're aging, we want to maintain that as much as possible. So I think um intermittent fasting is fine, but just you know, have somebody to work with with that, you know. If if we're doing something longer than like 24, 36 hour fast, is maybe we want to, you know, have a professional to work with with that. Um, but daily fast of like 12 to maybe even up to 18 hours, I think is fine. And um, you know, within those eating windows, we're still able to get plenty of nutrition in, and uh, you know, you you kind of figure out what works best for you with that.

SPEAKER_01 23:17

So, one more question.

SPEAKER_00 23:18

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 23:19

So water. I understand it might be somewhat important in one's life.

SPEAKER_00 23:24

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 23:24

Um I mean, there's air, and then I assume water is next, right? I mean it is water.

SPEAKER_00 23:30

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 23:32

So tell us about water intake and and how much water should we be drinking without having to get up five or six times throughout the evening and and you know interrupt their sleep.

SPEAKER_00 23:41

I know, I know. You know, a lot of people uh won't drink water because they don't want to be going to the bathroom all the time, but that's kind of the name of the game. That's just kind of what you know comes with that. But we're like 50 to 60 percent water, like we are made of water, and we wanna water is so important to all of the processes in the body, though that that metabolism I'm talking about, the transference of nutrients and joint health and everything, like it it requires water, blood. And so we want to be drinking enough of it so we have a good flow um within our system. So we say, you know, drink eight cups a day. Okay, uh, eight cups is about two liters of water, but actually, depending on your body size, you'll need more than that. And and hopefully you'll get that through your foods, right? Because our food also contains water, and especially or specifically our whole real foods coming from the trees and out the ground, and even the animal proteins, like that also contains water, and maybe we can get another three, four, five cups out of our foods. So we want to be eating the fruits and the vegetables and all that stuff that has water in it, and then trying to drink eight cups of water a day. Um, sometimes we aren't thirsty and we just aren't thinking to drink water, so it should be more of like a habitual thing. So we want to make sure we lump that with activities, such as when we wake up in the morning, drink a cup of water before we eat a meal, maybe drink a cup of water, or after we eat a meal, drink a cup of water. So couple it with things, even exercise. Maybe make sure you drink some water when you're exercising. Um, before you go to bed, maybe have water or some tea. I always say like plain tea, chamomile tea, ginger tea is always nice. Um, maybe an hour or two before bed. Um, and you know, you might it's it's kind of normal to get up maybe once a night to have to go to the bathroom. Um now, however, if we're getting up multiple times a night, that's very disruptive to sleep. And and so if that's specifically coming from drinking water before bed, then maybe we want to move that cup of water up a little bit earlier in the night. Um and you know, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 26:20

Well, Michaela, I think I can keep you on this on this uh podcast here for another hour, but I promised you a a shorter period of time. So uh your wealth of knowledge, why don't you tell our audience how to get a hold of you? Because I'm sure there'll be a lot of questions and need for for your services.

SPEAKER_00 26:36

Absolutely, yes. Um, they can email me at infossoulnf.com. That's S-O-U-L-N-F.com. Um, I am starting a CGM program soon, continuous glucose monitor. This is where we'll be uh monitoring blood sugar levels, and uh that gives us a lot of information on you know what insulin is doing and metabolic health overall. Um, so if they're interested in something like that, email me and I will send you a link to the waiting list that I'll be um starting up soon with that. And um you can also find my website at soul uh soulnf.com. Send me an email. I'm also on Instagram. I know that might be a little bit Instagram or Facebook. You can find me on there, nutritionist K, or you know.

SPEAKER_01 27:33

Thank you so much for all your information. We really appreciate it. And I I uh wish you well and and thanks again. Bye-bye. Thank you so much.