Blog #1 - Healthy New Year!

This is my first blog.  I retired from a 20-year career in quantitative marketing research at the end of 2010 and have spent 2011 transitioning officially into the wellness industry, completing the Certified Health Coach program from the Institute for Integrative Nutrition (IIN) and working with a handful of initial clients to help them reach their health and wellness goals. 
I'm happy, my clients are happy, and I decided to start a blog to connect with other wellness-minded individuals and share what I hope will be useful information from the crowded and confusing world of nutrition.  I plan to post every week or so, conveying what I think is the most interesting and helpful information/insight/advice from the myriad food & cooking & nutrition & dieting sources that I see on a regular basis. 

Today's blog pulls from Eating Well.com -- a website and associated magazine that I highly recommend you check out.  One of their recent newsletters offered lists of foods to help you feel younger, sleep better, and be happier -- what could be better than that, especially at the beginning of a new year when we're all about making resolutions, setting goals, listing wishes, or whatever wording you prefer!  I thought I'd share the foods in each list and give a bit of background on them, and you can refer to EatingWell.com for more information and specific recipes. 

Recommending that you add certain foods into your diet illustrates one of the principles of my IIN program, which is called "Crowding Out."  The principle is that eating better doesn't have to be about deprivation, denial, or guilt related to the "bad" foods you're eating -- it is better if it's about adding good foods to your diet, seeing how you feel, and likely being happily surprised that you don't need those old foods so much anymore -- they are "crowded out" of your healthfully evolving diet. 

So here are the lists, and the good news is that you'll see some overlap across them.  Eating well doesn't have to be complicated; mainly it's some version of "Eat food, not too much, mostly plants," as Michael Pollan proposes in his book, In Defense of Food.  Again, if you want more information or recipes for the specific foods recommended, go to EatingWell.com.

7 Foods that help you feel younger:  Olive oil, Yogurt (plain, but you can adorn it with nuts & fruits!), Fish, Chocolate (look for 70%+ cocoa DARK chocolate), Nuts, Wine (especially red, in moderation), and Blueberries.  These foods contain one or more of the following:  Omega-3 fatty acids, Calcium, Good bacteria, Flavanols, and Antioxidants.

5 Foods that make you happier by boosting mood and fighting depression:  Coffee (keep it simple, we're not talking sweetened coffee drinks here), Salmon, Saffron, Carbs (whole grains, especially sprouted grains and non-wheat whole grains), and Chocolate.  These foods relate to mood-critical neurotransmitters such as serotonin and dopamine and have in some cases been proven as effective as popular antidepressants. 

9 Foods that help you sleep better:  Fish (salmon, halibut, tuna), Jasmine rice, Tart cherry juice, Yogurt, Whole grains, Kale, Bananas, Chickpeas, and Fortified cereals.  These foods offer one or more of the following to help your body produce and regulate melatonin:  Vitamin B6, Calcium, Potassium, or Magnesium. 

Note that Fish/Salmon and Whole Grains are on all three lists; Chocolate and Yogurt are each on two.  Just remember to keep your versions of these healthy foods clean, whole, and simply prepared to reap the greatest benefits from them.  Enjoy!

For more information about my Health Coaching program and background, please go to FirstDayWellness.com.  There you'll also have an opportunity to see testimonials from clients that have worked with me over the past several months, and to contact me.  I hope to hear from you soon!