9 to 5 Wellness
Do you have the knowledge you need to help your organization get the best return on the time and capital invested in employee wellbeing? Are you a busy professional or C-suite leader looking to introduce wellbeing program at your work?
Discover the art and science of helping organizations grow their most important resource, their people. In this podcast we discuss how organizations can utilize the potential of wellbeing programs to deliver high return on investment (ROI) to employers. We talk about the radical impact that holistic employee wellbeing programs can have on overall quality of work and productivity. We will be sharing insights on investing in human capital. Such as:
🌟 What has helped their organizations gain a competitive advantage?
🌟 How they see the future of employee wellbeing?
🌟 Misunderstandings that are out in the corporate market today
🌟 Advice to other leaders to create a happier, healthier, and more productive workplace
Our guests are C-suite leaders, and wellness innovators across the value chain: HR managers, wellness champions, community wellbeing ambassadors, service vendors, and wellness consultants.
9 to 5 Wellness
Nutrition Q and A - Eating Fruit, and The Best Diet
Use Left/Right to seek, Home/End to jump to start or end. Hold shift to jump forward or backward.
🌟 🌟 🌟 If you liked this episode and would like to learn more about wellness training and workshops offered by 9 to 5 Wellness, email us at info@aeshathair.com. You can learn more about our programs at: https://toneandstrengthen.com/workshops-trainings/. 🌟 🌟 🌟
My passion is helping organizations create a culture of wellness, and I do this by setting up health programs that prioritize the most important asset they've got – their employees. Cheers to a healthier and happier journey ahead!
🌟 🌟 🌟 You can learn more about ME- the host at https://www.aeshatahir.com
Follow me on IG and LI to learn more
Welcome to the Nine to Five Wellness Podcast, a show about corporate wellness solutions with innovators and forward-thinking leaders who are at the forefront of the workplace wellness movement. I'm your host, Aisha here.
Hello, and welcome to the nine to five Wellness Podcast, episode number 119. So it's Sunday today, March 15th, and. I ran a 5K yesterday after a very long time. My first race was the first day of this year, like 1st of January. It was a 10 k and since then I had shaved off speed off of my runs and this was the second race of the year.
Guess what I placed second in my age group, which I'm feeling really good about, and it gave me a good reason to push myself and get into that high intensity run. My average power was 430 watts, which was pretty good, for the race course being hilly, and it was a windy day, really, really windy. So the wind was really hitting us, . We had a lot of friction over there. I ran with one of my friends from CrossFit gym and she placed first, which was amazing. So it was really good day for both of us. Also, I met up with so many new and old friends over there, so I am still on a high from that race. And then something amazing happened. I met this running coach at the after race party and she has a youth running group and she invited me today to come and run with the kids. So today I went to run with her team, and it was so good to run with the kids. I used to be a director of my kids' elementary school, , it felt good to get back to running with the kids, giving back to the younger generation because I want kids to run, and have running as part of their life for as long as possible. Then after the training run, I ran with the coach herself. So my legs are really feeling it today. But it was a good run. . I had so much fun.
So today's episode is a q and A episode, and I am answering your nutrition questions today because I get so many nutrition questions because I get so many nutrition questions from my patients. Are carbs bad for you? Is the keto diet safe? Can going gluten-free and dairy-free make you feel less bloated? . These are just a few of the questions I hear from my patients on a regular basis, and I don't blame them, there are a lot of trendy food fads and diets out there, and it's really confusing. The problem is all this misinformation isn't guaranteeing health at all. It's feeding into people's fear about eating and the morality of food so to help clear up at least some of this confusion. I'm answering some of those questions for you today because chances are you're asking those same questions too.
One of my favorite. Parts of being a sports nutritionist is teaching group nutrition classes and workshops, whether at corporations, hospital wellness clinics, medical practices, or community centers. I enjoy answering common food and health questions and I often surprise people with facts that run counter to their long held beliefs.
Some nutrition questions are asked so frequently. So to help you separate fact from fiction today I'm answering two questions from my patients. The first question is from my patient, Rachel. And she asked me if she should be worried about the sugar and fruit?
I know why I get this question a lot because we have all seen the headlines. Sugar has been labeled, the villain of the modern health linked to everything from inflammation to metabolic issues but here's the kicker. We are also told to eat more plants. So what should we do? Should we ditch the bowl of blueberries or should we eat it?
The answer is, drum roll please. No eating fruit isn't bad for you. And here's why. The number one source of added sugar for Americans providing 47% of sugar in our diet is sweet. And beverages items such as soda, lemonade, fruit punch, and energy drinks, fruit only provides 1% of the added sugars Americans consume on the surface. On the surface, avoiding bananas or pineapples due to their high glycemic index. Makes sense because. High glycemic index foods are those that are more likely to spike your blood sugar.
And yes, fruit is a high sugar food and it is ultimately processed by your body in the same way. Let's get technical for a second here. I promise to keep it simple. Don't worry about it. Most fruit contains a mix of fructose, glucose, and sucrose on paper. If you look at a chemistry textbook, the fructose in an orange is the same molecule as the fructose in a soda.
And since fruit comes with fiber and antioxidants, fruit overall is a much better source of sugar than say, a gluten-free cookie. I like to think of it like this. It's all about the packaging. When you eat a piece of whole fruit, that sugar isn't traveling alone. It's packaged with fiber, which is a big one because fiber creates a sort of gel in your gut that slows down the absorption of sugar into your bloodstream. This prevents the massive insulin spikes you get from processed snacks. Second. It has water. Most fruits are about 80 to 90% water, which naturally dilutes the sugar content, and third, it has a lot of micronutrients, vitamins, minerals, antioxidants that actually help your body process energy more efficiently. So the sugars and the fruit are so much more better , than the added sugars and the food.
Another example that I like to give is this. Think of drinking a soda, like a flash flood, hitting a dry river bed. What's gonna happen? It's gonna flood, right? However, eating an apple is like slow, steady rain that the soil can actually absorb. Now there's a catch. If you take that fruit and put it through a juicer, you're stripping away the fiber
according to National Health Services, sugar and fruit juice is considered free sugar, the same category as the sugar added to cake. Without fiber, your liver gets hit with that fructose all at once, which can lead to fat buildup over time. And same goes for dried fruit when you dehydrate a grape into a raisin.
You're concentrating the sugar content and losing the water. It's much easier to eat 30 raisins than 30 grapes, right? That's where you can accidentally overdo it. And then you can increase your sugar intake without even realizing it. But in all honesty, I I wouldn't worry about eating whole fruit.
You know why? Even if Americans met their daily fruit intake and 88% of Americans don't, it wouldn't come close to the volume of sugar we get from ultra processed foods and beverages. If you need to cut back on sugar, swap sweetened beverages for water and eliminate processed foods with the added sugar.
Keep enjoying fruit and aim for one or two cups per day.
Okay, so the second question is the million dollar question, and it's from Colin. Colin is asking me, what is the best diet to follow? If you have ever spent five minutes on social media lately, you've probably seen the diet wars. One person says, plant-based. Another says, meat is the ultimate fuel. One person swears by organic while another says conventional is just fine.
It's enough to make anyone want to give up and just order a pizza. Right. Here's the truth. All dietary protocols have their pros and cons, and the real secret is that the human body is amazingly adaptable to a vast array of diets.
You heard that, right? Whether you take a plant-based path or a meat-based one, you can get lean, you can get strong, and you can thrive. You can improve your health using organic free range foods, or you can see incredible results with conventional grocery store fines.
And guess what? Weight loss doesn't require a massive bank account either you can hit your goals on a shoestring budget just as effectively as someone with an unlimited one.
So if all these diets work, what actually matters? It comes down to two things. Consistency and commitment.
It takes a little know-how and a system for using the best practices that cross over all successful diets. Think of it as the universal truths of nutrition. So here are the three truths I want you to live by.
First, eat Whole Foods. Most successful protocols prioritize minimally processed foods. Second are the protein and fiber in food. These are your best friends for staying full and maintaining muscle mass. I'm talking about broccoli, Brussels sprouts, chicken and fish. And then third.
Try to practice mindful eating. Be aware of how and why you eat and how often you eat, which can be as important as what you eat.
If you were to ask me about one diet, I would say of all the diets, paleo diet is probably the best option because it focuses on whole unprocessed foods like lean meats, fish, fruits, vegetables, nuts, and seeds, while it eliminates greens, legumes, and dairy. I have to say it can be difficult to maintain long term because it's restrictive, and secondly, it eliminates some staples like rice and beans from the diet.
That's all from me for today. If you like these questions and my answers to these questions and you have a burning question, you can send me your question on nine to five wellness.com. You can record your question on the podcast website, and I'll answer those in an upcoming episode.
Thanks for listening today. Bye.
If you like this show today, please share it with your friends and family members and don't forget to subscribe to our show so that you can get fresh episodes every week.
