Nutrient Stacking: Building a Meal Based on Your Health Goals
/One of my favorite sayings as a trainer is movement is medicine. It’s so true. But food is the original medicine and is often overlooked as the most natural way to influence our health.
We have increasing access to a growing body of clinical research on the effects of various foods on our bodies. And medical experts, authors and podcasters like Peter Attia, Casey Means and Andrew Huberman are helping to spread the word so we can understand what foods to add to our diets based on our personal health goals. I love these experts but they can be… wordy and at times confusing. So don’t get frustrated and just try to gleam what you can and always keep learning.
Here’s an example of how I’ve used recent research about food to create a super yummy and super impactful meal perfect for pre- or post-workout. My goals in my mid-40s are to maintain muscle mass, ward off brain dysfunction, improve my sleep, nurture my gut biome by hitting my fiber goal of 50g+/day and to try to avoid taking allergy medicine. So I combined:
Greek yogurt for protein (with some fat) for muscle synthesis and nutrient absorption.
Blueberries for brain health.
Kiwi for sleep regulation.
Basil seeds for fiber and gut health.
Local honey from Marshall’s Farm because I have found it helps with my allergies.
