Can you share a quick background of your education & experience in the health, strength & conditioning field?
I attended the University of Wisconsin-Madison where I earned degrees in both Nutritional Science – Dietetics as well as Kinesiology-Exercise Physiology. Currently I work as a registered dietitian, physical preparation coach and a member of the Evolve Wellness Science team of Hometown Pharmacy of Wisconsin.
I’ve always been fascinated with how to maximize human performance through food, movement, sleep and stress management.
Since graduation, I’ve had the opportunity to work with a ride range of individuals, from adolescents and weekend warriors to elite professional athletes, including an Olympic Gold Medalist.
What struck your interest in nutrition?
Nutrition has always been a fascination of mine. At heart, I’m 1 part “meat head”, 1 part biochemistry nerd 😉. Put those things together and you end up with a guy fascinated about nutrition!
That said, my decision to pursue a degree in Dietetics was brought about by two career goals – to become the youngest strength and conditioning coach in the NFL and attend the Olympics to watch athletes I work with complete.
By studying nutrition, it allowed me to become more well-rounded as a Physical Preparation coach and better enabled me to help clients achieve their goals at the highest of levels.
Beyond sports, my background in nutrition has assisted me in helping people get off medications (safely) or prevent from ever needing in the first place through proactive health interventions (Food, Movement, Sleep, Stress Management).
On this note, I will add – never stop your medication without first consulting with a licensed health care practitioner. Nothing I share in this interview should be interpreted as medical advice.
In a culture where everyone wants the quick fix, what are drawbacks of using prescription drugs?
I will preface my answer by first saying that some medications are essential for life. For instance, if I’m a Type 1 diabetic, insulin is critical. Similarly, if I have a staph infection, you better believe I want to take an effective antibiotic! It’s not that medications are necessarily evil. They’re just a tool in the toolbox, which when used appropriately, can be effective.
That being said, very few medications actually fix the problem. They may help to resolve a symptom, but rarely do they get at the root cause of an issue. Additionally, many medications have undesirable side effects.
This often leads to the ‘escalating pyramid’ of medications (i.e. polypharmacy) as one has to take a new medication to counterbalance the side effects of the original prescription.
It’s for this reason that I’m so passionate about helping people reduce need and/or prevent from needing medications through proactive health interventions.
I’ve often heard you talk about how medications deplete essential nutrients within the body. Not many people are aware of this – Can you tell us a bit more about it?
Yes, it’s quite unfortunate that many people are not aware of this phenomenon.
It’s something that EVERY patient should be counseled on by their prescribing doctor and pharmacist. Unfortunately, it often gets missed.
This is one of the reasons people experience side effects when taking a prescription. Below are a few nutrients of medications that deplete nutrients in the body1:
* Proton Pump inhibitors (for acid reflux) – Vitamin B12, Vitamin C, Iron, Magnesium, Zinc
* Blood Pressure Medications (Diuretics)- Magnesium, Potassium and many others
* Aspirin (inflammation) – Vitamin C & E
* Metformin (blood sugar management)– Vitamin B12
* Statins (used to lower cholesterol) – CoQ10
* Oral Contraceptives – Vitamin B6, B12, Folate, Magnesium, Vitamin C &E
Collectively, depleting your body of the above ESSENTIAL nutrients leads to low energy, muscle pain, poor mood, nerve issues, decreased immune function and many other health issues.
- Reference: Mohn ES, Kern HJ, Saltzman E, Mitmesser SH, McKay DL. Evidence of Drug-Nutrient Interactions with Chronic Use of Commonly Prescribed Medications: An Update. Pharmaceutics. 2018 Mar 20;10(1):36.
Why might whole foods be a better option than medications? Can you give an example of how healthy foods can be a better option than medications
I truly believe that food is medicine. To the best of my ability, my goal is to always help someone transition from a pharmaceutical drug to a nutraceutical supplement to ultimately food.
Unfortunately, we are living in a society which often attempts to solve health issues through medications when nutrient deficiencies (i.e. low vitamins, minerals, antioxidants) or nutrient excesses (ex – sugar) are the issue.
By changing up one’s diet, we can achieve some pretty cool things.
For example, many people are on blood pressure medications.
However, simply by changing up diet, you can have great effects here.
For instance, let’s look at magnesium, of which ~ 70% of the adult population is deficient.
Magnesium deficiency causes high blood pressure, elevated blood sugar, anxiety, trouble sleeping, migraines, restless legs and low energy.
Magnesium acts like a “therapist” in your body relaxing all these negatives to support your overall health and wellness.
Foods like pumpkin seeds and various dark leafy greens are high in magnesium. By including plentiful amounts of magnesium in your diet through food, and supplements when necessary, you may be able to reduce the need for medications.
On a magnesium note – avoid taking magnesium oxide. One’s a recommend are di-magnesium malate, magnesium citrate and magnesium bisglycinate. These latter ones are better absorbed and gentler on the stomach vs. magnesium oxide.
You mention Supplements. How do supplements play a role in health? When are supplements good & when are they bad?
Supplements can fill nutrient gaps in the diet. Virtually everyone is deficient in something, especially if you’re not taking supplements. There are 7 supplements that most people could benefit from in my opinion as they’re challenging to get from food alone. These include:
Vitamin D – cardiovascular, immune, bone & mood support
Magnesium – cardiovascualar, metabolism, mood, sleep & energy support
Multi-vitamin – Everything !
Fish Oil – cardiovascualar, skin, eye, brain support
Creatine – brain & muscle support
Taurine – cardiovascular, muscle & antioxidant support
Fiber – GI Tract/Immune support
Realize vitamins & minerals are not “sexy” but they are the nuts & bolts that make your engine (i.e. body) work!
Unfortunately there are many junk supplements out there that either A) Use ingredients that lack research B) Are in really low doses or C) are not 3rd party tested to ensure what’s on the label is actually in the product.
Thus the importance of using a high quality brand vs. the $5 “bargain brand” on the shelves at most big box stores!
Can you tell us more about the Wellara personalized essential nutrient powder that your team is doing?
Wellara is one of the new things we’re launching in 2023 which we’re really excited about. With Wellara personalized essentials, we have the ability to make personalized essential nutrient (vitamins, minerals, antioxidants) powders SPECIFIC to your body.
This personalized supplement takes into account any medications that someone may be on – as mentioned above, medications depleting nutrients in the body is a really big issue!
We realize that no one likes swallowing a handful of pills each day so we’ve decided to put it in a tasty powder.
Additionally, rather than have a multivitamin made for general population, our Wellara Essentials is made specific to your body.
For those interested, I encourage you to check out our website and sign up on our waiting list for more info. It takes about 10 seconds!
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Wellara offers a meal service too, correct?
Yes – this is pretty cool as it gets back to the idea of “Food is Medicine.”
Wellara meal kits are delivered straight to your door step in temperature controlled containers.
There are a variety of meals one can choose from depending on eating preferences (Mediterranean, Paleo, Low Carb/Keto, Vegetarian, etc). Includes organic produce.
One can choose to have their meals come fully prepped in a ‘Heat & Eat’ fashion or as meal kits where we provide the ingredients & you can assemble it yourself.
For those wanting more information, sign up for our email notification and we can send more info:
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Well that’s all the questions I have for today. Thanks for joining us.