Nutrition Diva

883. You've probably been told to skip broccoli, garlic, spicy food, sushi, peanuts and even your morning coffee while breast-feeding. How much of that advice holds up?Monica Reinagel, MS, LDN, sorts fact from folklore on what to eat and what to avoid while nursing. She covers the colic theory about cruciferous vegetables, the open question of whether eating peanuts during breast-feeding affects a baby's allergy risk, and the NIH ESCAPE trial now testing it.In this episode, Monica explainsWhether cabbage, broccoli and garlic really cause gas and colic in breast-fed babiesWhy spicy food doesn't harm breast milk, and how your diet shapes your baby's food preferencesWhat the research says about peanuts during breast-feeding, and why early peanut introduction cuts allergy riskHow much caffeine and alcohol are considered safe, and how long to wait before nursingWhy the pregnancy rules on sushi and soft cheese don't apply while nursingWhich fish to choose, how many extra calories and fluids you need, and what to know about vitamin D for babyReferencesMaternal Versus Infant Vitamin D Supplementation During Lactation: A Randomized Controlled Trial - PubMedRandomized trial of peanut consumption in infants at risk for peanut allergy - PubMedPrevention and Treatment of Peanut Allergy - PubMedRelated episodes261: Can diet and nutrition help you get pregnant?281: How much weight should you gain during pregnancy?New to Nutrition Diva? Check out our special Spotify playlist for a collection of the best episodes curated by our team and Monica herself!Follow Nutrition Diva on Facebook and subscribe to the newsletter for more diet and nutrition tips.Find out about Monica's keynotes and other programs at WellnessWorksHere.comNutrition Diva is a part of the Quick and Dirty Tips podcast network. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

699.What's the latest guidance on how much protein we should eat, and what sources of protein are best, especially as we age? In response to a New York Times article released this week, we are bringing back this episode form 2023, with a fresh introduction from Monica.New to Nutrition Diva? Check out our special Spotify playlist for a collection of the best episodes curated by our team and Monica herself!Follow Nutrition Diva on Facebook and subscribe to the newsletter for more diet and nutrition tips.Find out about Monica's keynotes and other programs at WellnessWorksHere.comNutrition Diva is a part of the Quick and Dirty Tips podcast network. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

881. Bodybuilders have been taking creatine for decades, and its effects on strength and muscle mass are well established. Lately it's also being sold for brain health, better sleep, and menopause. The evidence on those newer claims is a lot thinner, but it isn't nothing.Creatine is stored mostly in your muscles, where it powers short bursts of high-intensity effort. Your body makes some of it, and you get the rest from meat and fish, which is why vegans tend to run lower. Stores also decline with age as muscle mass drops.Monica walks through what the research actually shows, including her own experiment with creatine supplementation:Why creatine doesn't build muscle directly, and what it does insteadThe 2 to 5 pounds of water weight most people gain in the first few weeks, and why it isn't the kind you'd notice in your jeansWhat a 2025 meta-analysis found about creatine, resistance training, and strength in adults over 50, and why the training group eventually caught upThe sleep-deprivation studies, where a single large dose measurably improved memory and processing speed for up to nine hoursWhy women may respond differently than menWhat the cognition research in older adults does and doesn't supportWhether creatine is hard on your kidneys, and what that creatinine bump on your bloodwork really meansLoading doses versus starting straight at maintenanceNew to Nutrition Diva? Check out our special Spotify playlist for a collection of the best episodes curated by our team and Monica herself! Follow Nutrition Diva on Facebook and subscribe to the newsletter for more diet and nutrition tips. Find out about Monica's keynotes and other programs at WellnessWorksHere.comNutrition Diva is a part of the Quick and Dirty Tips podcast network. ReferencesSingle dose creatine improves cognitive performance and induces changes in cerebral high energy phosphates during sleep deprivation | Scientific Reports Single-Dose Creatine Reduces Sleep Deprivation-Induced Deterioration in Cognitive Performance Creatine and Cognition in Aging: A Systematic Review of Evidence in Older Adults | Nutrition Reviews | Oxford Academic The impact of creatine supplementation associated with resistance training on muscular strength and lean tissue mass in the aged: a systematic review and meta-analysis | European Review of Aging and Physical Activity | Springer Nature Link Creatine in women’s health: bridging the gap from menstruation through pregnancy to menopause - PMC Creatine Improves Total Sleep Duration Following Resistance Training Days versus Non-Resistance Training Days among Naturally Menstruating Females Impact of creatine supplementation on menopausal women’s body composition, cognition, estrogen, strength, and sleep: Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition: Vol 22, No sup1 Effect of creatine supplementation on kidney function: a systematic review and meta-analysis - PMC Related Episodes877 - Why is everyone talking about L-Theanine? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

879. Are you eating too much protein, or not enough? The honest answer is that the question itself is flawed, because there's no single number that fits everyone.In this episode, Monica breaks down why protein needs shift across a lifetime. The mTOR "growth switch" inside your cells runs hot during childhood, powering the tissue-building that young bodies require. In your 30s and 40s, dialing protein back may nudge cells toward repair and cleanup instead. And after 50, when muscle naturally starts to decline, eating more actually helps preserve strength, mobility, and bone health well into later years.She also puts the recent longevity headlines in context. A widely covered review of animal studies found that lower protein intake can extend lifespan in flies and rodents, yet those results don't map neatly onto human biology, where lifestyle, genetics, and the rest of your diet all shape how you grow older.Monica offers a more grounded way to think about protein: match your intake to your age, sex, and activity level, and treat the current RDA as a floor rather than a goal.nutritionovereasy.com/calculatorJoin us for a live show taping on September 17 in New York City. Details at wellnessworkshere.com/live.New to Nutrition Diva? Check out our special Spotify playlist for a collection of the best episodes curated by our team and Monica herself! Follow Nutrition Diva on Facebook and subscribe to the newsletter for more diet and nutrition tips. Find out about Monica's keynotes and other programs at WellnessWorksHere.comNutrition Diva is a part of the Quick and Dirty Tips podcast network. ReferencesThe hallmarks of protein and amino acid restriction in aging and longevity: Cell Press Blue Low Protein Intake Is Associated with a Major Reduction in IGF-1, Cancer, and Overall Mortality in the 65 and Younger but Not Older Population: Cell MetabolismNew Horizons: Dietary protein, ageing and the Okinawan ratio | Age and Ageing | Oxford AcademicDietary protein intake and all-cause mortality: results from The Kawasaki Aging and Wellbeing Project - PMCThe impact of dietary protein intake on longevity and metabolic health - PMC Protein Intake and Frailty in Older Adults: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Observational Studies - PMCRelated Episodes699 - Are we eating too much protein? Or not enough?847 - Does a high protein diet accelerate aging?865 - The new food pyramid: progress or paradox? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

787. How do we balance the need to protect our skin from UV rays with our body’s need for vitamin D?Mentioned in this episode:DMinder (iOS/Android) - http://dminder.ontometrics.com/Vitamin D and UV Tracker (Android) - https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.uv.vitamindtrackerSunDay Vitamin D and UV Tracker (iOS) - https://apps.apple.com/us/app/sunday-vitamin-d-uv-tracker/id1133953409Nutrition Diva is a Quick and Dirty Tips podcast, hosted by Monica Reinagel.New to Nutrition Diva? Check out our special Spotify playlist for a collection of the best episodes curated by our team and Monica herself! We've also curated some great playlists on specific episode topics including Staying Strong as We Age, Diabetes, Weight Loss That Lasts and Gut Health! Also, find a playlist of our bone health series, Stronger Bones at Every Age. Have a question for Nutrition Diva? Email: [email protected] Monica at wellnessworkshere.comDiscover more from Nutrition Diva:Facebook LinkedInNewsletterTranscripts available at QuickandDirtyTips.com. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.