Nutrition Making the Difference: Key Tools and Resources for the Therapist
Robin Allen, Certified Nutrition Specialist
Summary:
Proper diet and nutrition plays a very significant role in the health and well-being of the clients we serve. A person’s food intake affects mood, behavior and brain function. Join Certified Nutrition Specialist, Robin Allen of Necessary Nutrition, as she shares key nutrition secrets and resources that will not only help your clients, but will make a positive impact on your health, wellness and nutrition.
Objectives:
Attendees will learn:
1. Useful Nutrition and Wellness Resources to Share with Clients
2. The Biggest Nutrition Mistakes Most People Make and How to Avoid Them
3. Critical Good Mood Foods
4. Seven Nutrition Tips for Increasing Brain Power and Mental Health
Necessary Nutrition was founded in 2008 by Certified Nutrition Specialist, Robin Allen, and Food Technologist, Toyin Dawodu. Necessary Nutrition offers a variety of products and services designed to help clients and customers take their health and wellness to the next level of excellence. The Necessary Nutrition Academy is the educational component of Necessary Nutrition that offers comprehensive programming; including monthly classes, workshops and nutritional counseling. Necessary Nutrition also features their brand of Necessary Nutrition Whey Protein and Necessary Nutrition Omega 3's. Your Nutrition and Wellness Partner and Resource www.Necessary-Nutrition.com Robin Allen: 951-259-5198
Bio:
Robin Allen is a nutrition expert and the co- founder of Necessary Nutrition, Inc. She has inspired thousands of people to embrace food and nutrition as the basis for fighting obesity, illness and disease. Robin is an in demand presenter, conducting workshops, classes and seminars on nutritional wellness throughout the Western United States. She has been featured on CNN Headline news, and countless other media outlets sharing her insight on food and nutrition. Robin received her Bachelor’s degree from the University of Las Vegas, Nevada (1996), and her Master’s from the University of Redlands (2001) and an additional nutrition certification from the Global College of Natural Medicine (2008).
Nutrition Making the Difference: Key Tools and Resources for the Therapist Synopsis
We had the pleasure of hearing from certified nutrition specialist and co-founder of Necessary Nutrition, Robin Allen MA. Necessary Nutrition, founded in 2008, is a company that offers a variety of services and products designed to help customers take their health and wellness to the next level of excellence. Robin shared with us how she helps her clients take their health and wellness to the next level by educating us about the role of food groups, vitamins, and minerals; sharing mood and brain boosting foods; and sharing the biggest nutrition mistakes we make.
Food is the fuel for our bodies and changes our mood, behavior, and the chemistry in our brains, so it is important to understand how food works and how to optimize what we put into our bodies. Robin educated us about the role of carbohydrates, protein, fats, vitamins and minerals to better help optimize the meals we plan to get the highest nutritional value from them.
Carbohydrates are the main source of energy for the body, and significantly affect mood and behavior. There are three sources of carbohydrates: sugar, starches, and fiber. While some diets claim that carbohydrates are what “make you fat,” they are a necessary part of the diet. This myth comes from the fact that if the body cannot use the carbohydrates you eat, it turns into sugar and stores as fat, which throws blood sugar levels off balance and leads to weight gain. To avoid gaining weight from carbohydrate consumption, it is suggested that the majority of carbohydrates in the diet should be high in fiber, as fiber helps the body digest food.
Robin also suggested that protein always be consumed with carbohydrates. Proteins are the building blocks of our bodies. Protein is necessary for the growth and repair of the body’s tissues, provides energy, act as enzymes that control chemical reactions in the cells, and helps keep blood sugar levels regular (which is why they should always be consumed with carbohydrates so that they do not get stored as sugar and turn into fat). There are complete and incomplete proteins. Complete proteins contain all 9 of the essential amino acids in the amount the body needs while incomplete proteins lack one or more of the amino acids.
Most complete proteins come from animal products such as meat, fish, poultry, cottage cheese, eggs; while proteins derived from plant foods such as legumes, grains and vegetables tend to be limited in essential amino acids. Robin also discussed how protein affects mood, which is why many of the depression medications have the amino acids in protein in them. That’s right! The pills our clients take to help with depression are packed full of protein.
Fats help nutrient absorption, nerve transmission, and to maintain cell membrane integrity. While many people are more prone to stay away from fats, the fact is that we need fats, especially the “good fats” such as monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats. One essential polyunsaturated fat that 98% of Americans do not get enough of is omega-3 fatty acids. Omega-3 fatty acids have many benefits including supporting cardiovascular and neurological health; support healthy vision; help support healthy blood pressure; boost immune function; help fight degenerative disease; help support healthy blood cholesterol and triglyceride levels; improves mental health; promotes healthy skin; helps support healing and repair in the body; enhances brain and nerve development; reduces joint and muscle inflammation; and improves ADD/ADHD symptoms in children. Fish oil and flax oil are excellent sources of omega-3 fatty acids.
Vitamins and minerals play a number of roles on physical, mental, and neurological our health. Due to the time restriction, Robin primarily discussed B-spectrum vitamins due to the connection with these vitamins and mental health. B-spectrum vitamins play a large role in brain and neurological health. Deficiency of B-spectrum vitamins can manifest in mental symptoms such as irritability, headaches, loss of memory, fatigue, dementia and emotional instability. Folic acid is a B-spectrum vitamin that can have a huge effect on mental health. Some studies suggest that folic acid deficiency can lead to depression because lack of folic acid lowers levels of serotonin in the brain. Although there are recommended daily amounts of vitamins and minerals, this is just a general recommendation. Everyone’s bodies are different, requiring different amounts of vitamins and minerals to function at peak performance and health. This is why it is important to get blood tests done on a yearly basis to determine what vitamins and minerals which you need more, and minerals which you are getting too much, as too much can be just as harmful.
Unfortunately, the standard American diet often robs our bodies of our natural feel-good chemistry. For this reason, Robin shared some powerful mood and brain boosting foods that we should focus on consuming to protect our mood and brain: - Fatty fish: seafood like salmon, albacore tuna, mackerel, and sardines are packed with omega-3 fatty acids, which are essential as discussed above. - Leafy Green and Cruciferous Veggies: includes broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, kale, bok choy and Brussel sprouts. They are filled with antioxidants that are powerful brain protectors. - Asparagus: a top plant-based source of tryptophan, which serves as a basis for creation of serotonin, one of the brain’s primary mood-regulating neurotransmitters. - Avocado, oils, nuts and seeds: contain vitamin E, which in one study found that people who consume vitamin E through their food had lower risks of ADD. - Dark chocolate: at least 70% cocoa, contains flavonoids, which is an antioxidant linked to good brain health. - Berries: antioxidant powerhouses that protect your brain. - Mussels: loaded with some of the highest naturally occurring levels of vitamin B12, which protects the brain.
Robin also let us in on the biggest (and sometimes, the most common) nutrition mistakes that we make. These mistakes can lead to physical, mental and neurological shortcomings in our health.
1. Failing to eat within one hour of waking up.
2. Going more than 5 hours without eating.
3. Overindulging in sugar.
4. Going without omega-3 fatty acids (fish or flax oil).
5. Imbalanced meals.
6. Lack of planning out meals.
7. Having meals without protein.
Some good protein sources are fish, chicken and turkey breast, whey protein, cottage cheese, beans (consume with veggies), tofu, pork tenderloin, and lean red meat.
We would like to thank Robin Allen for her captivating and educational presentation about nutrition and how it affects us and our clients. As you can see by the length of this summary, Robin really gave us a wealth of great nutrition information. As therapists we know that the body affects the mind and vice versa, ultimately affecting the overall health and well-being of our clients, making it important to understand how nutrition plays a role in our client’s mood and symptomology. Robin Allen’s nutritional company, Necessary Nutrition, can be a great resource for our clients who need some guidance, as they offer a wide variety of nutrition products such as vitamins, whey protein, fish oils, etc., as well as nutritional programs including classes and nutrition plans formulated by certified nutrition experts. If you have any questions for Robin or would like some more information, you can visit www.NecessaryNutrition.com or contact Robin by phone at (951) 259- 5198.