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Browse every published article connected to Danielle VenHuizen, with exact attribution and full-archive search.
Articles
Browse every published article connected to Danielle VenHuizen, or search within this exact expert archive.
Anxiety. It’s a common ailment. When my clients list their medical history, anxiety is often on the list. It seems to be more prevalent than ever. Maybe we are now recognizing and diagnosing it more often, but it is not uncommon for a person of any age, even children, to report various levels of anxiety.
Unless you’ve been living underground, you have likely heard an overwhelming amount of information related to turmeric this past year. Somewhere along the way it was awarded super-spice status and now can be found almost anywhere you look, from supplements, to grocery store products, to even toothpaste!
Most of us have heard plenty about Type 2 Diabetes. It is a serious condition causing abnormal elevations in blood glucose levels. Type 2 Diabetes now affects over 29 millio Americans and is costing the healthcare system over $300 billion annually.
I love adding spices to my cooking. Besides some of the well-hyped health benefits, they just make food more interesting. The same ingredients from one dish can be magically transformed into something completely different just based on the spice profile. It can set apart one region’s or even one person’s cooking from another. It separates, say, East coast cuisine from the West, as well as Aunt Emma’s chili from your own concoction. Spices make all the difference.
It’s that time of year again! Colorful confections are hitting the store shelves, and likely your kids, like mine, are begging to purchase those colorful sugar bombs every time you walk into the store. It’s such a constant battle that I try every way possible not to take my little critters shopping with me. But don’t get me wrong. I’m all for kids having fun and enjoying the holidays we all remember growing up with. Packaged candy treats around this time of year of are one of them.
It seems everyone has an opinion on nutrition these days. It's not even so much of an opinion anymore but a sort of dogma. "Thou shalt eat this way or risk ones health irreparably." You read it all over the internet and magazines every day. There is always someone spouting the "real" healthy diet we should all be eating. For the average person, these diet wars are frustrating and confusing. To make matters worse, some of these seemingly healthy diets can be downright harmful, especially if someone is already at high risk for chronic disease.
I've been pondering this question ever since reading an article that public health officials in the UK want to start labeling foods with "activity equivalents."(1) While only a proposal at this stage, these depictions would let consumers know approximately the time and types of activity required to burn off the calories in the product being purchased. A box of biscuits might, for example, have a picture of a person walking for 60 minutes or swimming for 30 minutes to demonstrate the type of activity and length of time it would take to burn off the calories in one serving.
It caught my eye that this week is National School Breakfast Week. Sadly my first thought was, "Really? Yuck." Maybe that was yours just now too. We all remember school lunch from back in the day. Mine was soggy pizza and limp fries, or maybe an iceberg salad with ranch and a few mystery meat nuggets. I'm not joking. This is exactly what I ate. I typically chose a carton of lowfat milk as my beverage, but others choices were juice boxes or chocolate milk.
It's February, and that means it's American Heart month! Despite all the talk about heart health, I think we honestly forget what a big deal Heart Disease is in this country. It is the number one cause of death in the United States. Numero Uno. That is not something to take lightly. Certainly we've taken steps to try and combat this epidemic, but yet heart disease remains the most likely cause of death of an individual in this country. According to the Heart Foundation, a person suffers a heart attack every 34 seconds. The heart-healthy message isn't getting across.
I love this time of year when the doldrums of cold days and dark nights are broken up by some of our favorite holidays. Thanksgiving gets things started and soon enough Christmas is on its heels. The various holiday foods are definitely one of my favorite parts. It’s typically but once a year I lay my eyes on pumpkin pie, cranberry sauce, fruit cake, and other, well, not so healthy items. They say the average American gains 7-10 pounds during the holidays.
I think it’s safe to say that we all know obesity is a problem in this country. Sometimes we might be in denial about what an enormous problem it is, but once you pay attention and look around, you realize we have an epidemic on our hands. This is going to cripple our nation in terms of rising health care costs, inability to work, and general lack of joy and vitality in one’s life. It’s not just costly, it’s just sad.
You have probably heard the word Candida before. It's a term thrown around casually at times in reference to those with suspected tummy troubles or general malaise, especially when diet choices seem to exacerbate the condition. I've even heard people ask if Candida is even a real thing. Whatever your opinions are on the topic, it is well documented that Candida overgrowth is a real affliction. While a variable amount of Candida resides in our GI tracts normally, it is an overgrowth that, if left unchecked, can wreak havoc on the entire body, even to the point of death.
Yep, it's here, Christmas season! While this is a joyous occasion for most, are you one of those dreading the stream of Christmas parties, office treats, and edible gifts? The amount of sugar can seem endless. Even for the most motivated it can be incredibly difficult to resist overindulging, if not for lack of willpower than simply due to pushy people who seem to take extreme offence when treats offered are refused. What is with people sometimes? I've noticed this more frequently when clients tell me about weaknesses.
Are you one of those people that always seem to have slow digestion? Maybe you commonly complain of indigestion, burping, stomach pain, reflux, constipation, or just a sense that food is "stuck" in your system. If so, believe me, this is not uncommon. I talk to clients frequently who complain of many of the above. Whether it's our Western diet or something genetic, some of us just don't feel all that great after we eat.
There are many of us nutrition professionals now aligning ourselves with Integrative Medicine. I consider myself in this group. Maybe you are asking yourself what exactly this is and most importantly, does it really matter?