Jen is the Manager of Nutrition and Healthy Living Programs at SAS Institute in Cary, NC. She is a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist and an Integrative and Functional Nutrition Certified Practitioner. Outside of work, Jen enjoys hiking with her family, practicing yoga and spending quality time with her dogs.
Our circadian rhythms, the natural cycles that govern our sleep-wake patterns, are crucial for overall health. Not only do we feel more energetic when we sleep and wake at the right times for our bodies, but living in alignment with our 24-hour cycles has a big impact on our metabolic
Circadian rhythms are natural internal biological processes that regulate the sleep-wake cycle and repeat roughly every 24 hours. These rhythms are influenced throughout the day by external cues like light and environmental temperature. Syncing our biological functions with the diurnal, day-to-night, fluctuations of the natural world around us plays a
Why Ferment at Home? Fermented foods have health-promoting properties, but the store prices or limited selection available to you may have you wondering if you’d be better off making your own. Don’t be intimated by complicated fermentation vessels or the fear of a science experiment gone wrong. I stalled for
I’m all for a good 2-for-1 deal, so if there’s a food I can use as a condiment to jazz up eggs, salads, beans, grain bowls, meat, fish and wraps while offering unique health-promoting properties, sign me up! Enter fermented foods — these functional foods that are created through controlled
Carbohydrates are important for energy, balancing our gut microbiome and regulating the flow of food and waste through our digestive tracts. And let’s be real, lots of high carbohydrate foods taste great!
Mixing vegetables into a meal you already love is one trick that helps non-veggie lovers increase their vegetable intake. Including sprouts is another non-intimidating way to sneak in more of the benefits of veggies. Why you ask? Research estimates that broccoli and cauliflower sprouts contain 10-100 times more cancer-fighting glucoraphanin
Over the last decade, more and more people have turned to intermittent fasting as a tool to improve metabolic flexibility, decrease the risk of chronic disease, optimize their longevity and simplify their lives. Fasting needs to be done in a way that works with one’s lifestyle, personality and physiology in
There’s something about the air fryer that makes food more cravable. If you have the space to leave an air fryer out on the countertop, chances are you’ll use it all the time. Here are a few of my favorite convenient ways to use mine.
I often think of the expression “Bend so you don’t break” when I need to remind myself to be flexible in my mindset. As a yoga enthusiast, it also makes good literal sense to be physically flexible. But what about metabolic flexibility? I think the saying applies here too. Being
Electrolyte drinks (think Gatorade and Powerade) have been marketed to athletes for decades, but in the last few years electrolyte water, powder, drops and tablets have become all the rage. With electrolyte replacement options galore on the store shelves, you may be wondering if you should be taking them. There’s
