Discover the transformative power of nutrition and education in diabetes management with registered dietitian Christina Cook, a pre and type 2 diabetes specialist. This episode promises to enlighten you on how to love food while mastering your health. We unpack the complexities of diabetes, celebrate the joy in everyday eating, and provide practical advice for lowering A1C levels without sacrificing the flavors you adore.
Embark on an emotional and educational journey where we tackle the often misunderstood nature of diabetes.
Kristina's Resources:
Website
Want to Work with Kristina - CLICK HERE
Connect on Instagram
My Diabetes Coaching Resources:
Website: www.simplifyingdiabetes.com
Newsletter Sign Up
"More Than A1C" - My Signature Coaching Program
The Diabetes Nutrition Master Course
The 5-Pillars Of Diabetes Success Worksheet
Don't forget to check out Ancient Bliss an herbal supplement company.
Use Discount Code KEN20 for 20% off at check out.
Have a question, send me a DM or email. I'd love to connect and answer any questions you have.
You can find the show on any platform you listen to your podcasts!
Don't forget to click on that subscribe button and leave a 5-star review, so you're notified when new episode drop every week.
Questions about diabetes, don't hesitate to reach out:
Podcast Disclaimer: Nothing that you hear on The Healthy Diabetic Podcast should be considered medical advice or otherwise; please always consult your medical TEAM before making any changes to your diabetes management
Discover the transformative power of nutrition and education in diabetes management with registered dietitian Christina Cook, a pre and type 2 diabetes specialist. This episode promises to enlighten you on how to love food while mastering your health. We unpack the complexities of diabetes, celebrate the joy in everyday eating, and provide practical advice for lowering A1C levels without sacrificing the flavors you adore.
Embark on an emotional and educational journey where we tackle the often misunderstood nature of diabetes.
Kristina's Resources:
Website
Want to Work with Kristina - CLICK HERE
Connect on Instagram
My Diabetes Coaching Resources:
Website: www.simplifyingdiabetes.com
Newsletter Sign Up
"More Than A1C" - My Signature Coaching Program
The Diabetes Nutrition Master Course
The 5-Pillars Of Diabetes Success Worksheet
Don't forget to check out Ancient Bliss an herbal supplement company.
Use Discount Code KEN20 for 20% off at check out.
Have a question, send me a DM or email. I'd love to connect and answer any questions you have.
You can find the show on any platform you listen to your podcasts!
Don't forget to click on that subscribe button and leave a 5-star review, so you're notified when new episode drop every week.
Questions about diabetes, don't hesitate to reach out:
Podcast Disclaimer: Nothing that you hear on The Healthy Diabetic Podcast should be considered medical advice or otherwise; please always consult your medical TEAM before making any changes to your diabetes management
Really isolating. You know whether type one, type two doesn't matter. Like, a lot of people don't have other people that know what that's like. You know what I mean. So there's really nobody to lean on. Yeah, I mean, the first thing that I tell them is that this is not your fault. Like, please know that it's not your fault. Sometimes that sinks in and sometimes it doesn't, because, regardless of whether or not it's your fault, you do feel like your body's failing you. Even by the time that you have pre-diabetes, even up to 80% of the beta cells that produce insulin can be ineffective.
Speaker 1:Welcome back to the Healthy Diabetic Podcast. As always, before we get started, please remember that nothing that you hear in this podcast should be considered medical advice or otherwise. Please always consult your medical team before making any changes to your diabetes management. Thank you so much for joining me for this episode. I cannot wait to introduce you to this incredible guest that I have lined up for you guys today. If you're brand new to the channel, brand new to the podcast, thank you so much for showing up. Thank you so much for listening.
Speaker 1:If you don't know much about me, my name is Coach Ken Kines. I'm a type one diabetic, been a type one diabetic since 2007. I'm a diabetes coach, nutrition coach and strength coach. Okay, let's jump into this. And actually, before we jump into today's guest, I just want to also remind you guys that if you enjoy this episode, if this episode aligns with your values and what you believe in and you really like this episode, I encourage you to share this with someone that you believe is going to get a lot of value from it.
Speaker 1:This podcast is all about sharing other experiences, other people's understanding of the condition, and educating you, the audience, on diabetes. Okay, let's get to this. So today's guest is with Christina Cook, an RD registered dietitian specializing in pre and type two diabetes. She is passionate about helping people lower their A1C without cutting out the foods that they love. She runs virtual programs and has helped hundreds of clients all over the world lower their blood sugars by educating them on how impactful wholesome foods can be on their blood sugars, while guiding them to their aesthetic and personal goals. So pumped for you guys to hear this episode Again. If you are aligned with this conversation, please share it with someone that you believe is going to get value Without further ado. Let's get with Christina Cook.
Speaker 2:My name is Christina Cook and I'm a registered dietitian and I specialize in type two diabetes. Where do I even start on the journey? So just a little bit about myself. Let's start there. So I knew I wanted to be a registered dietitian when I was 17, when I was in high school and it's kind of a funny story because no one in my family would have thought that I would become a dietitian just for the sheer fact that I ate like complete crap.
Speaker 1:I don't know if I could say that you can say that 100%, yes.
Speaker 2:I mean, I was like, oh well, everyone in high school kids all eat like that and I'm like, totally for sure, but I didn't even eat a single vegetable. I truly just hated vegetable. I was being literal too. My first salad was a caprese salad and I ate all of the mozzarella out of it. And then I had like one little tomato and like a touch of the basil and I was like, oh my God, I just ate a salad Like I was so excited about it.
Speaker 1:It's great.
Speaker 2:It's just like yeah, but for me it was because, you know, a friend asked me to join the drill team with her in high school and I was like no, that's dorky, I don't want to do that. And then I ended up loving it. I became one of the coaches by my senior year and at that time, you know, in high school, you start thinking about things more deeply and I just thought, like you know, I'm using my body in this way and what's fueling it. Obviously, food and nutrition is so important and I started looking into things online and I got really into naturopathy and I thought that I wanted to become a naturopathic doctor. I even went and visited in Seattle to potentially go there, and then I just decided I wanted to do it kind of more of the mainstream way. And you know, I ended up going to Cal Poly in Luis Obispo and I got my bachelors of science and nutrition there, which I loved. It was just the most amazing time going to school up there. But you know, meanwhile, while I was going to school there and finally learning all of the science behind how things actually work and how carbohydrates are digested and what protein and fiber does, it just kind of changed my philosophy on nutrition, like it wasn't just about, you know, eating micronutrients and eating healthy. It was about understanding how it, you know, breaks down in your body.
Speaker 2:And you know, during that time, you know, I thought a lot about my grandmother and she had, you know, diabetes as well. So it was something that I saw her struggle with growing up and like even just eating any of the food that she made, because she was an amazing cook and baker and the house, I mean, she was up at like nine in the morning baking and cooking, yeah so, and I was very lucky to be able to live with my grandparents and so I grew up with them and you know, I just saw her kind of struggle and be so nervous, like I think a lot of people with, whether it's type one or type two diabetes, feel around foods and like it was like every food, especially a carb food, even fruit, even potatoes, which are German foods that you know we grew up eating, she was really nervous about and once I was going to school for it, I just realized we over complicate things in the diabetes realm. You know, it doesn't have to be so complicated, it's not. You can't have carbs for sure.
Speaker 2:You know that right.
Speaker 2:So it's really just understanding how you know how to have them and you know, anyways, as my career, you know, went down the line, I got registered as a dietitian and then I started working in the clinical setting inpatient, going into the patient rooms and you know doing all of that and really understanding more of the clinical side and depth and you know speaking with colleagues who were really well versed in type two diabetes and type one diabetes.
Speaker 2:As a little newbie dietitian I was just soaking it all in and then I ended up becoming the outpatient nutrition education dietitian for type two diabetes and bariatric surgery. So I learned a lot during that time and I knew at that time that I wanted to work with type two diabetes specifically. It just really resonated with me and I saw people that would come in and they were really, you know, obviously you see people on all parts of the spectrum. It's really hard to get a diagnosis like that, but I felt like I was making an impact. You know, like they showed up that day because they wanted to be there and that they felt that there was something that they could get out of it, and so, anyways, I here, I am down the line.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's awesome. I just I think that your story resonates, really, really resonates with me, because I think about the, I think about my diagnosis and I think about the non support that I had, not from, not because my parents or my family wasn't there, I just, I just didn't have support from the medical side. I didn't have support from I didn't know anybody. I didn't know any friends or family members or anybody that had diabetes. So it's like that support is so important.
Speaker 1:And when I think about the times that I went to the hospital and all the times I tried to like, oh, I don't want to go, or I don't want to go, I don't, you know, I don't care, I don't care, and those times during that three years of denial was like so, so powerful. And when I finally found that support, not just from the people in my inner circle, but also from I found people that I trusted in the medical system, it just became so much more powerful. And I think that individuals like you that are not just not just the doctors, but like the dieticians, the CDEs, those people that are actually really, if you think about the frontline people of someone's, really their care, because the doctors only have five, 10, maybe 15 minutes tops, to even communicate or talk to these people. They're checking numbers. They're, you know, switching out medications, whatever it is. It's like in the dieticians and the CDEs, and those types of people are the people that can make the real impact. No-transcript.
Speaker 2:Yeah, absolutely. And thanks for sharing what you shared about your diagnosis, because I really isolating, you know, whether type one, type two, it doesn't matter. Like a lot of people don't have other people that know what that's like. You know what I mean. So there's really nobody to lean on, and I mean whatever kind of diagnosis, if you get one, that's, that's scary as heck. You know what I mean. So I totally understand there being sort of like a denial period and then you know, once you, once you finally come to that state of acceptance, you need to have people like you mentioned, like healthcare providers and your own community of people that get what it's like Working in the clinical setting. I've seen all of that. You know. I've had people come in that kids you know that were diagnosed with type one, that, especially where they're like no, no, like you know, I'm an athlete, I exercise, I'm very active and I don't have this.
Speaker 2:They didn't want to admit that they had it and you know it was so heartbreaking for me to watch at the time because it's like you want to be able to help. But it's like I get it. You know I get where they're coming from. It's like you feel like your body's failing you. Again, doesn't matter if it's type one or type two, but once you get to that state of acceptance and you see that there's people that like love and care about you and want to help you, I think that's really healing.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's really interesting because and I want to ask you this because I'm a big mental component of this disease, going through what I went through being a coach, and I understand the importance and the impact that the mental piece has on an individual, especially at diagnosis what's your thoughts Like? Is there specific questions that you're asking or specific words that you're telling people when they're first diagnosed? Or if you're in front of an individual that is having a very hard time with the acceptance piece, is there like things that you kind of talk about or words that you say to them?
Speaker 2:Yeah, I mean. The first thing that I tell them is that this is not your fault. Like, please know that it's not your fault.
Speaker 2:Sometimes that sinks in and sometimes it doesn't, because, regardless of whether or not it's your fault, you do feel like your body's failing you. You feel like why, you want to know why. But again, it's not something that you did, it's not something that you could have changed. So there's so many different pieces that go into it and sometimes I remind people of that there's a genetic component. Sometimes there's not, and maybe you don't even have a family history and it's like why is this happening to?
Speaker 2:me all of a sudden, and so I also okay to have that process and you kind of have to go through that process whatever that looks like for you, but do find people that care and want to support you.
Speaker 2:That's just really important because you it's not, I mean you can do it on your own, but you need people that understand what it's like and people that you can lean on and that you can ask questions to. You know to understand and like the other thing that I tell people, because sometimes having a little more perspective understands is or to understand is that even by the time, at least with you know type two diabetes, that even by the time that you have pre diabetes, even up to 80% of the beta cells that produce insulin can be ineffective. So, at the point of pre diabetes, right, so you're not working with 100% of capability and that's not your fault. That's just how the pancreas is responding right now. Right, it's just a biological thing that's happening. So you know, once you come to that place of, okay, I've processed it, maybe I'm still processing it, but I'm, like, ready to move forward, find those people and lean on them and then you can get there, maybe steps, it's maybe steps.
Speaker 1:Yeah, this is awesome, I think.
Speaker 1:The other thing that I would love to get your perspective on, because I feel like there's a big stigmatism in diabetes when you hear diabetes, the first thing someone thinks about is unhealthy, overweight, not taking care of themselves, and that's just not always the case.
Speaker 1:And having this understanding of distinguishing between type one and type two and even throwing in pre-diabetes and LADA in there, now like I think it's important to understand the differences, the fundamental differences of all four of those you know when we're talking about diabetes, because for me I use, even as a coach, an early, early coach I was naive to think for type two diabetes, all these people are non-compliant, they don't care. I was that person and it took another coach for me that I listened to and I talked to to think and say to me like, no, that is not the case, it's because they don't have enough education and they don't have enough support. If they have the education and they have the support, and the support not just in the physical aspect of being able to give them the right doses of medications or insulin, whatever they need, it's also the mental capacity and the support of allowing them to accept the disease and understand. Okay, these are the things that we're going to change in our lifestyle now to deal with this condition that we now have.
Speaker 2:A hundred percent and, yeah, you're so right, like, I think, a lot of people, there is that stigma. A lot of people think that, oh, people that have, especially, you know and let me just preface for anyone that's on the call and listening to this that's like, well, what is the difference between type one and type two? Type one diabetes is an autoimmune disease where your body basically attacks the cells that produce insulin, so your body's no longer producing enough insulin to bring your blood sugars down. So that's why a lot of people with type one diabetes, they have insulin pumps and that basically helps their body regulate. Type two diabetes it's kind of nature versus nurture. So there is a genetic component and then there's lifestyle components that may contribute, and it's going to be different, obviously, from person to person how much of what is contributing to that. So, but yeah, there's definitely a stigma around, especially with type two diabetes, that people just aren't living healthy lives. And I will tell you right now, I've worked with pediatric clients that are under the age of 18. I have worked with clients that are in their 20s, that are young, healthy. I've worked with clients that are marathon runners and athletes, and so these are all people with type two diabetes, and so, at the end of the day, it's really not something that they aren't doing, and I think we also have to address that.
Speaker 2:When people are struggling with diabetes, it's not just the stone cold, hard facts Eat this, don't eat that, or exercise. Well, let's take a deeper look into this person's life. Maybe they have four kids and they're a single mom and they're working a full time job. They come home at the end of the day, okay. So how much time do they have to exercise in the day? How much time do they have to actually plan meals? How much time do they actually have to do grocery shopping? Do they have enough money to feed all five mouths in the household? And let's be real about the kind of foods that they can actually choose. Let's be real about the fact that kids are going to say mom, can we go? Stop at McDonald's, can we stop at Chick-fil-A? Those are all really real life circumstances that we have to approach with kindness and understanding.
Speaker 2:I think those are completely normal things and we're very privileged to look at it from a perspective of, oh, they're just not eating healthy or they're just not living a healthy lifestyle. So we have to really acknowledge those things, and when I work with clients, I look at them individually and people always ask me well, what does that look like? And I'll tell you right now. I have clients that are traveling five days out of the week on a different date, and they're like how do I do this? I have one client that's on phone calls literally from eight in the morning until like 2pm and they're like well, how do I eat during my phone call?
Speaker 1:Oh, there's a solution and I'll help you do it.
Speaker 2:You know what I mean. So smoothies and things like that. But yeah, you have to look at the person as an individual. We all have circumstances and barriers, but my job as a dietitian is to help you overcome or find solutions that you might not have seen and not judge.
Speaker 1:I love that because it's part of the thought process of coming to each individual person with empathy and, like you said, kindness. It's this thought process I am constantly pushing. It's like my number one message and that's it doesn't matter what type of diabetes you have. It doesn't matter what the circumstances of your life are. Your only job as a diabetic is to figure out what's going to work for you and with your family and your situation. It's your only job.
Speaker 1:And it's incredible that nowadays, with the incredible ability of technology, the incredible ability of being able to have Zoom calls and have consultations and have all of these incredible individuals that are coaches, dietitians, there's so much access to be able to get really good quality information. Then there was 10-20 years ago. So it's like one of those things. For me, it's like it's empathy and then it's being able to, like you said, look at the whole entire individual and figure out what's going to work. And it's in it. And it also is a stepping stone because it's not like we can Snap our fingers and all of a sudden you're cured, or all of a sudden like you're cured of all of your you know thought processes, your relationship with food or your relationship with yourself or the condition like no, that takes a, that takes effort and it takes a long time.
Speaker 2:Absolutely yeah, and I think you know, even before somebody is diagnosed with diabetes, some of those things you were mentioning like the lifestyle and what your day looks like and the stress of eating and maybe even some disorder to eating underneath there that all existed before you got the diagnosis.
Speaker 2:And so now in this diagnosis and what I tell my clients and people that I talked to on my platform is like it's almost like we zoomed in and now there's like a microscope in on all of the food stuff, where maybe it was a little bit back here before and it was kind of on your mind and stressing you out, but now it's keeping you and you're like really stressed and overwhelmed. So my job is to like really guide you through, like how do we approach this? Where do we start? Because it's a lot of like, it's all up here. It's like where do I? What do I grab first?
Speaker 1:You know you can't do it all at once.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I, I, I love that because it's it is one of these things that I I also think about when I think about food.
Speaker 1:I've like thought about this concept so much and it's this thought process about what your food values are and your food values can help you with your relationship with food and how you, when you identify what those values are, whatever, that is, like the individual that you're talking about, with the, with four kids, working mom, single. She had her values and what she is valuing is totally different than what my values are as as a coach, as a husband, as a father of two little girls. Like our values are totally different and I think for me, when I talk to people, like that is like a big thing I think about when I talk about food, because that allows you to Put a foot in the sand when you want to and be able to take a step back and not have so much emotional trauma when you know that, okay, I want to eat this doughnut just because I've had a bad day, or I want to go eat some pizza and treat myself, or whatever it is. I think, I think that's super powerful.
Speaker 2:Yeah, absolutely, and everyone is gonna have sort of, like you said, a different set of values or an approach and In a philosophy. When it comes to food, you know, like I work with people that are vegetarian and whether it's for personal values or ecological or religious, you know that's something that you know we respect. Or maybe it's somebody that you know just chooses to not have artificial sweeteners, or you know they just want to eat, you know, super Nutrient, dense, what, whatever that is right, like everybody is gonna be different. So I think it's good to kind of know where you stand as an individual With diabetes so that somebody can actually help you, because whoever's working with you should respect those things, you know, and I think it's really important to have that.
Speaker 2:But for me, like my personal approach is just, you know, having had a history of like disordered eating myself and Going through the whole ringer with that and being, you know, coming from that like naturopathy, homeopathy kind of lens, where everything has to be clean, everything has to be like added herbs and zero sugar and this and that, and Find the healthy version of it. You just can't do that forever, right, like maybe you can for a little bit and like maybe there's like certain meals or snacks that you make like that, but you also have to enjoy things like pizza or like maybe a donut sometimes. Right, like I just posted a post on my Instagram and people were like, oh my gosh, you made my day, you showed me how to eat a donut, and it's like you know, let's just be real, like you're a human being. It's okay that you want to enjoy a donut sometimes and you know, maybe you don't have to use it as like a treat or a reward, but getting to a place where you can just be like you know what a donut sounds good, I'm allowed to have that and I know exactly what to pair with it in order to keep my blood sugars in range and not feel Like just move on.
Speaker 2:Food has no morality, right Like we assign that to food.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I love that. That food has no morality. That is a great saying. That is, that's perfect. I love that. I want to. I want to take a pivot here not really a pivot, but I want to, I Love. I would love to have your thought processes. We're talking about food.
Speaker 1:Food has become such a educational thing, even on a personal level, for me in a world in a crazy world where there's so many options, so many people are uneducated about what is actually in the food and so many people are uneducated of what's in our food and what's been what's like misleading in our food. What is your thoughts about food labels? Do you kind of go through like any educational thoughts with your clients on food labels and how to Navigate all the crazy shit that's in our food, that's gonna that's gonna build and bring on inflammation? I'd be curious to know what your thoughts are on that.
Speaker 2:Yeah, absolutely. I mean, I think there's a lot of confusion Out there and my whole philosophy is just keep it as simple as possible, right, like, obviously, if you're choosing foods in their most whole, natural form, so like a sweet potato or an apple or some berries, like you don't really have to worry about those like food additives. But where I think it gets confusing is that people think, oh well, there's so many chemicals and food and I don't know if you've seen that post of the blueberry. It's like a instant, maybe I'll repost you, but it's, it's blueberries and it's. The ingredients are written out and they're chemicals, right, so like, even chemicals. From a scientific standpoint, chemicals even in blueberries.
Speaker 2:Now, that's not a bad thing. That's just the way that our world is built up. So, you know, I see people on tick tock or Instagram and they're like you know, cellulose, you shouldn't be eating this, this is in wood chips and it's like well, cellulose is indigestible plant fiber. So I hope that you're eating that celery, the stringy part of that cellulose. So what I tell people is don't get too granular. Where you're like zoomed in that much and you're like oh my gosh, I can't eat anything because this is bad, this is bad. That's bad. Like, take a more zoomed out approach and just look at the macro nutrients, you know, especially for any kind of diabetes, if you want to prevent a blood sugar elevation or like a spike From your blood sugar going very high very quick, you do want to add more protein, fat and fiber. So just pair those things with your carbohydrates, make sure you have a good source of those in your foods. And, like I said, in reality, like I don't know about you but I like having things like crackers at home or you know I probably choose the whole grain ones just to get a little more fiber.
Speaker 2:But I do teach my clients, you know how to look at the nutrition label. Like, make sure you're looking at the serving size and then look at All of those macro nutrients to kind of see how that fits for you. You know. But even if you're choosing Maybe you're choosing a refined grain or maybe it's white rice or white crackers you don't have to get the fiber from the cracker. You know, maybe you're doing a charcuterie night at someone's house and they just got the regular water crackers. You know, maybe you bring a veggie dish there's your fiber, so you don't have to get so granular with it. Just think about what can I add to this food? You know, because really all foods can fit into a nutritious diet. You know, obviously the base of your diet you want to be nutrient dense and coming from whole foods, specifically plant. Of course that's gonna help a lot, but you can still enjoy. You know some of those other types of you as well.
Speaker 1:I'm I'm interested too is like I Look a lot of honor ingredients and I like hear what you're saying about Not being so hyper focused on some of those things that are in there. I'm curious is there's things that you believe that someone should be looking out for? That is like, is there like a no, no, no For you on anything in ingredients, as an example, like a seed oil or something like that? Okay, honestly?
Speaker 2:no, because a lot of information is taken out of context honestly. So the seed oils thing is one example, but the main thing, and I'm never gonna tell people no, you cannot.
Speaker 2:Gotcha right ever the in the scientific community. If you have a degree in science or you're doing anything in science, you'll know that there's a saying that states the do the dosage makes the poison so, and that goes for everything. So even if you're having like a little bit of sugar from like a piece of chocolate or something like that, that's not gonna spike your blood sugars, you know, especially if you're having it with like some almonds or something that has a little protein and a little fat and a little fiber. But obviously, if you're eating, if you're having like juice and soda all day and you're having like huge meals with carbohydrates with no protein and fiber, that's gonna spike your blood sugars. That's gonna be a problem. But even something like water if you drink too much water, you can have water intoxication and water is healthy for us. Right same thing for kale. If you eat too much kale, then you can have thyroid issues.
Speaker 2:So there's nothing that I'm gonna say is completely off limits. But the main thing that I would tell my clients to look at is just added sugar, because the main added sugar is that you can intake a lot of carbohydrate and it doesn't really fill you up, right? So, for example, if you're having. The perfect example is juice, and even the ones that you get fresh squeezed from, maybe whole foods, or that you're juicing at home because there's no fiber. You're just you're not really getting full from it, you know. So you're just basically dumping a bunch of Sugar or carbs into your system and you're not realizing what quantity you're consuming. But if you have a meal that's more built out with the protein, fat and fiber, you're gonna get full, even if you have a little added sugar, a little dessert or something you know what?
Speaker 2:I'm saying so that's a thing. Yeah, obviously there's like a lot of things out there that people are talking about, but I think it just gets a little granular and some things get a little confusing for clients. So my philosophy is simple, because when I see people come into my program, they're they're so overwhelmed and they're like I saw this, I saw that I thought I should not be eating carbs, I thought I shouldn't be eating this, this oil, or the sugar, or I shouldn't be eating a potato, you know. So it's like just simplifying it for them a lot.
Speaker 1:Okay, let's, let's go into. Let's go into this because I would love to get some like thoughts on Different things that you would recommend for people like what is your favorite like snack for someone to kind of like dive into? Or is there a specific snack that you're like this is really good because it has all the Quality that we want in this snack. Or or this is a really good snack that is a lot of people like Is there a snack that you could like to recommend for people?
Speaker 2:Well, personally, lately I've been loving some cottage cheese.
Speaker 2:I feel like cottage cheese is happening right now, isn't it? It's all over, everyone's purring it and blending it and eating it and all these different ice creams and things like that. But honestly, I feel like people are either love it or hate it about it, but I actually really like it. I feel like it's so versatile you can have it on its own, you can make it savory, you can make it sweet. So cottage cheese definitely Soury is good because it has a source of protein, naturally, and carbohydrates, and now you're finding some brands that might even add things like fiber, so that really makes it perfect.
Speaker 2:There's also going to be a little fat in there, so it really does have everything that you need, or even like a little yogurt cup, ideally something that doesn't have added sugars. So there's some brands out there that use Stevia to sweeten and I really like those, especially if you like those fun flavors. So those are some of my favorites, also like blueberries you just can't go wrong with blueberries. They're such a good snack food and maybe have some like almonds with them Really good, or also I just love protein bars, because I have a sweet tooth, so there's a lot of good protein bars out there.
Speaker 2:Some of them have like a good amount of carbs and a good amount of protein. So that's ideally what you would want to look for, because you don't want to avoid the carbs, you want to still have some to get you know. You know this being into fitness that your body needs carbohydrate, something like a moderate amount of carbs and then a good amount of.
Speaker 1:Gotcha, you mentioned dairy and we hear all this information about like, no dairy or you know, lessen your amount of dairy that you consume. Lessen the amount of wheat and gluten that you consume. What is your thoughts on, like allergies and sensitivities? Is that something that you work to kind of like look at or test for when you're kind of building a meal plan or consulting or working with someone?
Speaker 2:Great question. So there's a lot of talk about the dairy and gluten and for the average person that does not have an allergy or sensitivity, there is no research showing that there's any benefit of cutting those foods out. And in fact, incorporating those foods like whole grains and low fat dairy can actually be beneficial to lowering your blood sugars and keeping you on track. So if you do not have an allergy or a sensitivity, I definitely don't recommend cutting those things out. I don't test for those personally in my program, since it's more just focused on the blood sugar management, but I do ask my clients if they have any allergies or sensitivities or even food dislikes, like even if there's just something you don't like.
Speaker 2:I want to know about that because I want to realize it to you, and I do have clients that come into the program with lactose intolerance or gluten intolerance or, you know, celiac and things like that. So if that's the case, that will absolutely cause inflammation for you. So definitely be diligent about you know, if you do have those, you know conditions that you're not incorporating them in the diet, especially if you have something like celiac, for example. That's another autoimmune disease. So, yeah, that's a good question though, because everyone's talking about that right now and it's even for me.
Speaker 1:I look at like I feel like the people, just the individuals that I come across to, both on the diabetes side and the non-diabetes side, I feel like everyone has some type of thing that they have either a mild, medium or high sensitivity to. So it's always interesting to have get a different perspective on this gluten and dairy thing, because it's it just. I feel like it changes all time.
Speaker 2:Right, yeah, but you know, if you do have an intolerance or if it just doesn't sit well for you, whether it's that or even something else, like I have clients that tell me like bananas make them feel that way, or certain types of sweeteners or artificial sweeteners or even natural sweeteners. So if you feel like that towards anything in your diet, just don't incorporate it. You don't have to eat a certain food even if it's considered good or healthy. Just stick with what you like and what makes you feel good.
Speaker 1:I like that Because I know for me like there's specific products of way that don't sit right for me and then I can do a different product of way and it's totally fine. And I like I started to dive into it and I think it's not necessarily the way, but it's the other ingredients that are in with that specific way, and it also might be a combination of just way isolate all the, all the stuff that they put into the, into these products that are high protein. I even had the same issue with vegans, with vegan proteins, so I just moved to collagen protein and that seems to work way better.
Speaker 2:Good, yeah, yeah, I'm glad you found something that's better. A lot of people feel that way with the proteins and also, you know, we're we're processing things in such a different way that now we're taking like one component of the food and isolating it and ingesting it. So obviously, you know, biologically this isn't really something that we were doing for that long. So we're going to see that digestively, that might cause certain distress for us. I experienced the same thing with whey specifically as well, and it's it can be hard to have protein powder. So yeah, if there's, you know, things that just don't sit, well, try to find something that's going to make you feel better, you know, because it's having digestive stuff is not fun.
Speaker 1:That is not fun. We don't. We don't want that for sure. Okay, so here's my other question, because we're on, we're on this digestive thing, we're on this like allergy and sensitivity thing what if I'm an individual that doesn't know if I have an allergy or sensitivity?
Speaker 2:Yeah. So I mean, there's a lot of talk about how effective these allergy tests are, so I would just speak with your doctor and see what the best option is for you and see if there's, you know, you might need to go to an allergist, and sometimes it's not food allergies, sometimes it's other allergies, it could be environmental allergies and so I would speak with a professional that really knows where to guide you in the right direction. That's first, and if it does come down to a nutritional possibility, a lot of the time we have to do an elimination diet, which is the. I'm going to just be frank. It's not fun. You have to basically cut out everything and then slowly add it in one thing at a time, because sometimes it's an intolerance. You know, there's so many different things going on in our bodies. Even if it's not an allergy, it still might not sit right with you. You know, and I think that, especially with digestive health and gut health, there's still so much that we're learning that we don't even know about yet.
Speaker 1:It's almost like a universe of its own or like the ocean or something so yeah, I just. So much is happening in the gut? Yeah, Right.
Speaker 2:There's just so much new research coming out and it's really interesting to follow that. And you know, with like probiotics and our gut microbiome and things like that, there's still so much that we don't know. But I would say, definitely go to your clinician, find out next steps. You might have to do an elimination diet it's not fun and just again stick to the foods that feel best for you.
Speaker 1:What is your like if, like you had to pick right Because we know elimination diets aren't? They're just not fun, like I know for me, I did a food allergy, food sensitivity blood test and it was super comprehensive and it came back with a bunch of stuff, even stuff that I'm like. How the hell am I sensitive to kale and spinach and different, just like different dairy products? So it was just really interesting to go through that process and for me that was way easier than going through the elimination diet.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and I think it depends on the type of test. That you get done to, because there's like statements coming out now from the scientific bodies that some of those tests are not really accurate. So that's why I say, doctor, obviously they know the most up to date science, they know you know what's actually recommended by those governing bodies.
Speaker 2:And so, yeah, I think it, I mean it's good to just kind of know if you can go get checked out absolutely, especially if you're someone that is prone to having, like stomach upset and digestive issues, it's worth getting checked out.
Speaker 1:I could. Yeah, I think the other thing interesting thing is, when I think about those different tests is stool versus blood and like I mean I've seen, I've seen it all, I've seen. You know, we both have seen it all in terms of the scientific research and like what's going on and like what's what's the new trendy thing, and like it's just an interesting thing to think about.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it is. I'm excited to see the new science that continues.
Speaker 1:Yeah for sure. Awesome girl. What can you? Before we wrap up here, I want to do I have two more questions for you, because I think this is this is an important piece that I would love for people to be able to connect with you about. Can you just can you give us a lowdown of, like your company, what's going on with your company, how long your company's been in business? You talked a little bit about your philosophy. If you want to like, add on to any of that thought process, just so people can understand, like what, what your company is and how they can kind of find you.
Speaker 2:Yeah, absolutely so. Like I said, I'm a registered dietitian and I specialize in helping people lower their A1C without cutting out the foods that they love, particularly pre-diabetes and type two diabetes. I'm actually currently also in the process of studying for my CDE Nice.
Speaker 2:Okay, couple of months Now it's CDC, yes, but same thing. And so, yeah, I've actually had this company since 2018. But when I first started it, I did it kind of in the traditional way where you know you have an office space that you're renting and you see patients in person hour by hour and, honestly, that just wasn't really working for me. I was working like several jobs at the time, just trying to get things going, and it just you that I failed.
Speaker 2:If you want, I kept my business open, so I'm under the same business under the same company, but in 2022, I was working full time at a corporate job in marketing as a registered dietician, and I just wasn't really happy doing that.
Speaker 2:Honestly, I missed patient care, I missed interacting with people, and so I rebranded my business and I actually got a business coach to help me do that and to learn how to really reach more people and connect and to connections with people in the space that I want to, you know, help, and so I went full time doing this in November and I've been doing this full time since.
Speaker 2:And so, yeah, if anybody is interested in learning about what I do, it's I do. You know, I have several things. So I run a signature coaching program that's four months and I have various components of the program. We meet weekly with the group, we do check ins and we set personalized goals based on each individual. Like I said, it's going to be different for someone traveling versus a full time single mom, right, so that's really important. And I have other fun things in there, like a food and blood sugar journal, educational resources, a community, that I connect them to with other people on the blood sugar journey, and then I also have one to one support as well. So those are all things I do.
Speaker 2:I do brand partnerships as well, but if anyone wants to reach out and just connect with me, I honestly really like talking to people just in the messages and connecting and seeing what's good for them and it's good for me to know, like you know, what they're struggling with and what's been coming up for them or what the most challenging parts of nutrition are for them. I genuinely enjoy that. So if anyone's listening and you want to just kind of chat and connect, you can find me on Instagram under type two dot, diabetes, dot nutritionist or Christina cook. But yeah, that's basically I love that program.
Speaker 1:I love that. Can you? Can you leave us with one to three things that you feel are like really impactful, that you feel like someone should know, that they could implement into their lifestyle now?
Speaker 2:Yes, absolutely. I just immediately threw things.
Speaker 1:Let's go Nice.
Speaker 2:Oh, okay. So my first thing that I will always, always, always tell people and they are surprised by this sometimes is do not skip meals. Do not skip meals, and that's mainly because when you yes, I'm glad we're on the same page. So when you skip like a lot of people, for example, might be trying intermittent fasting, or they're just not hungry in the morning, or they just don't have time because of work what happens is when you have regular meals, you're basically like look at it as, like a, as a graph, right, as a scientific perspective. You're raising your blood sugars regularly and dropping them regularly in regular intervals. But if you don't have breakfast, then when you have lunch you're going to be starving. You're not thinking about what you're choosing consciously, you're just like where is the food and that's a completely normal biological response to being starving, right? So your blood sugars are going to shoot up real high, real fast, and then they're going to come down.
Speaker 2:Then you're not going to be that hungry for dinner and then so you might just have a smaller amount. So, instead of being like a regular little, even mountain range, you're going to be like and that's what we want to avoid, that's what keeps you on the blood sugar roller coaster that that's just not nourishing your body in the way that it wants to be. So that's my number one tip. My second tip is that, again, I don't recommend that you have to necessarily avoid or cut anything out. However, one thing that you would really benefit from limiting as much as possible is drinking your sugars, so any beverages that have added sugars in it, like soda, even juices, right. So anything that doesn't have that fiber or protein. Again, you're just dumping the sugar and you're not feeling full, so you don't realize how much you're getting and you're just getting all this high carbs. So, switching to maybe the diet or sugar free version or, you know, maybe instead of that homemade juice, you're juicing at home, you're doing a smoothie and you're keeping some of the fiber and maybe you're adding a protein powder so you can make it more of a meal. So just really focusing on cutting back on the added sugars from drinks, and then the last thing that I would say is that please don't feel like you have to cut out your cultural foods or the foods that you just enjoy.
Speaker 2:Obviously, part of what you should learn is how to really form balanced meals. Make sure that your meals are nutrient dense, healthy, whatever you want to call it right. So whole grains, beans, nuts, seeds, fruits, vegetables, lean, proteins, but it's also okay and I actually recommend that if I don't know. For example, for me, I'm a chocolate girl. I have a little chocolate every day, a little something every day, and knowing that every day I get to have that, that nothing is off limits, sets me up for success and allows me to, in you, to eat healthy and nourish my body every day without feeling like foods are off limits or that I have to binge when I'm around those foods. Because, again, I've been there personally and I've done a lot of work and research in that area of things and it just doesn't last when you cut out things like that. So, please learn, whether it's working with a coach, a dietitian, whatever that looks like. Please learn how to do that and I promise you you're going to set yourself up for success.
Speaker 1:I love that. That's awesome. I love that you ended that with the mental aspect of food. That's awesome. That's awesome. I think the other interesting. As I continue to listen to your story and your philosophy and your thought processes, I think one thing that keeps popping up in the back of my head is the concept of quality of food, because I value that so much and I feel like there's a sense to you that it's like being able to enjoy the food and being able to look at almost like an 80-20 rule in terms of the food is way more important to you, and I think that's such an interesting thing to think about.
Speaker 2:Absolutely and that's really. Again, my clients will come to me and they're like no, I'm trying not to eat any of that and I'm like I encourage you to have make what. It doesn't have to be like a chocolate fudge brownie Sunday. I'm just saying like, even if it's a chocolate protein bar and you like that, just have something one time of the day that you actually enjoy. And I think like, especially being in the fitness field yourself, there's that old thing where it was like clean, all the time chicken and brownie, no flavors, no seasoning, and weekend do your cheat days and you just eat like crap all day long, like that's the worst thing you can do for your blood sugar is a health right, Because you're setting yourself up for I'm being good, good, good, good, good, and then I'm being bad.
Speaker 2:eat clean, dirty bulk or whatever you want to say so. It's like you're mentally, whether you realize it or not, so again, having that approach to food that you are, you have unconditional permission, that's what I say with my clients and give yourself.
Speaker 2:You know you are always allowed to eat food, just like you're always allowed to go to the bathroom. You're not going to be like well, I went to the bathroom 30 minutes ago, so I'm not going to go now because I shouldn't have to. I just went, you just go right. So same thing with food we're allowed to eat. Yeah.
Speaker 1:I love that because it's it's one of those things that I love your thoughts. I love, love, love your thoughts about like, don't restrict, don't restrict, don't restrict, because there's so many people that do that. They go, they go on these diets. I hate the word diet because it's as a start and a stop date. I just I hate it and and I and I guess I understand the concept of if you have a specific goal in mind, great, but let's, let's focus on, like you said earlier, repairing the reason why that you need to lose weight, repairing the reason why that you need to to go on this diet in the first place. Let's repair that as we're going on the diet. And I love that, that non restrictive thought process. And you said something else that I wanted to bring back before we end, because you mentioned it earlier, and that was intermittent fasting. What is your thoughts? Because it's a big topic, everyone wants to know about it, everyone wants their, everyone's opinion about it. What is your thoughts about intermittent fasting?
Speaker 2:Yes, so great question. So I let's just call it what it is it is another diet. So obviously you know people and I'm not invalidating that and people have a right to go on a diet if that's what they choose. I absolutely respect that. But you know and I know, people do it for varying reasons.
Speaker 2:Sometimes it's not necessarily a diet, but maybe some of the other benefits we see, like in the research, we do see that it can help increase life expectancy a little bit. But again, how long is your lifespan really going to be increased? And again, we don't know right what's gonna happen in your life. I just think there's so many confounding factors that come in between that If that's something that you choose to do or you want to, you know, maybe have a longer, healthier life, go ahead and do that.
Speaker 2:But a lot of people do it as a weight loss tool and the main thing that it's helping with is to decrease the window of time in which you're consuming calories, and if you do that, you're probably gonna eat less calories, and so that can lead to weight loss. So again, one thing that I see with a lot of people that have type 2 diabetes is that they are still doing some of the weight loss diets because they kind of think well, weight loss, then my blood sugars will be better, and that's not always the case, unfortunately. It does require a more, a deeper understanding of what a meal should look like, or you know things like that right. So I think that it's not something that I recommend again, because we do want your blood sugars to rise and drop steadily throughout the day. But I respect anyone who wants to try something. I think it's good to play around with things, but the ultimate thing that I find people always come back to is just it's not something that they can do for the long run.
Speaker 1:And I think that when you look at, when you look at the research and you look at those guys who actually created that, I don't think they ever intended it to be a lifestyle. I think they intended it to be a tool for us to repair or whatever we're trying to use it for. And I think that's what people get lost on is they get, they get so ingrained into oh it's, I'm going to take on this lifestyle, I'm going to have a you know 16, you know 16 hour non-eating window, or an 18 hour non-eating window and, like you said, like there's no way you're getting enough calories for your body to sustain itself within that small timeframe, every single day.
Speaker 2:Exactly, yeah, and again it's person focused.
Speaker 2:So what if you are somebody that wakes up in the morning to exercise and you want to get a really good workout in and maybe you're doing cardio and you're also lifting and you're trying to lift heavy because you're trying to build muscle right Then is it really beneficial to not have anything before and maybe not even have anything that long after? Absolutely not, because you're not going to get as good of a workout and you're not providing the proper substrate to actually build muscle right. So it is important to look at the person and again, I just always go back to nourishing your body. Yeah, I love that.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I love that. All right cool. Well, this has been, this has been so awesome. I'm so glad I got to connect with you, your expertise on nutrition and the thought processes and philosophies that you have just aligned so much to me, which is incredible. Everyone has their own thought processes and I think that being able to have these really good conversations with people, especially with individuals like you that, who are way freaking smarter than me, is super impactful for all the people listening, but then also for me. So I appreciate you and I thank you.
Speaker 2:Yeah, thank you for having me, and I do think quality of food that you consume is hugely important, but again that quantity of time 80, 20, things like that.
Speaker 1:Yeah, there you go yeah.
Speaker 2:I really enjoyed our chat today, so thank you, it was so fun.
Speaker 1:Thank you so much for everyone listening. Thank you, make sure that you reach out to reach out to her, because she's just a wealth of knowledge. I'll make sure all of her contact information and Instagram handles and stuff are in the show notes. Make sure you guys go on there. There'll be links in there so you don't have to do anything. You don't have to search for everything Do is just hit the link. So thank you to everyone for listening. Thank you, girl, for coming on. This was incredible and I will see everyone next time.