Meg Gerber, RD, LD, IFNCP, CGN

My three favorite veggies are beets, broccoli sprouts, and fresh herbs. Beets have many benefits for the body, like nitric oxide production, methylation, and bile flow. Broccoli sprouts are great for estrogen detoxification in the liver and bitter veggies can help with bile flow and gall bladder health. Fresh herbs can help diversify the gut and add flavor to meals, while also providing benefits like liver health and brain health.
 
Transcript: "Okay, this is almost impossible to answer as a dietitian, but I'm going to narrow it down. So number one, beats they are involved in so many wonderful things in the body. And on top of it they are great for the gut microbiome, rich in fiber and generally, a diverse type of fiber. That most people aren't used to consuming often but rich in nitric oxide so they help increase nitric oxide production in the body which is great for blood flow. Cardiovascular health people who Neuropathies or generally, like blood flow to the extremities issues like things like rain odds. I also love it because it's helpful in methylation and that is involved. That's basically donating a methyl group on to a molecule and activating different processes in the body. Namely one really big one is DNA expression but also things like detoxification and the liver. So I I love beets for many reasons, but they also are helpful for bile flow. So important for digestion. Not only does that help us break down our fats but it helps with fat soluble vitamin absorption of bile flow. And my opinion is one of the Earth or lack of bile flow or stagnancy. Bile flow is one of the main reasons why there's so many issues with Digestive and sufficiency and things like bacterial overgrowth, because if that's not flowing and functioning at every meal, we can really have problems down the road with things over. The got my second, favorite, veggie would be broccoli, Sprouts. So good for estrogen detox in the liver broccoli, family, veggies in general, or bitter veggies, that are again. So good for bile flow and gall bladder health. We store bile in the gallbladder and it flows from there at mealtimes ideally and so anytime we could eat more bitter veggies. Again, it's diversifying the gut and diversification is really the number one way. We Support got Health at a greater level and sustaining got health and then my third is kind of a category fresh herbs. There are so underused in especially the American diet and there are so nourishing for a number of reasons, parsley and cilantro, great for Liver Health Rosemary. Great for brain health, they add flavor and kind of diversify your taste buds to help with digestion. So those are my top three"
 fav veggie recipes!

The cephalic phase of eating is the brain phase of eating and can help reduce gas and bloating. To do this, slow down, take three deep breaths during a meal, become present and focus on chewing. Also, cooking food more often than eating raw can help, as well as soaking and sprouting beans and grains or buying pre-soaked and pre-sprouted brands.
 
Transcript: "Okay, I want to start a little more basic here because this is so important. The cephalic phase of eating is also known as like the brain phase of eating so acclimating and getting your body in to rest and digest mode or parasympathetic mode where you're up. Regulating the digestion process, the motility process peristalsis moving things along. This is the most important first step if you're someone who just is more gassy and Bloated. Meals. And the way that you do this is by slowing down taking what I call my rule of Threes three deep breaths, three times during the meal and really, really thinking about chewing. This is so simple but it's so vitally important. When is the last time you ate a meal and you actually thought about chewing and swallowing the meal, we tend to not do that. It's something we're an autopilot mode about and that simplistic practice of Just getting your brain into the zone of eating meaning slowing down, smelling, your food becoming present chewing. Well, swallowing that is the cephalic phase of eating. And when we engage our brain with the process, we up regulate, our digestive juice output meaning stomach acid, digestive enzymes bile Flow by 20%, so we have studies to support this. It's so cool and so empowering, right? Like all you have to do or I should say one. Important. First step is to really get present, slow down, Engage The Senses, get out of like work mode and get into eating mode, to really help with that, gas and bloat. So, start there before you go deeper. And then I would say focusing on cooking your Foods more often than eating raw, it takes incrementally a higher load of digestive enzymes to digest raw food. So I really recommend cooking eating warm cooked Foods, most often. And then one thing, That people can look at is especially with things like beans and Grains soaking and sprouting them meeting soaking them. I have a resource that I can share about this for a kind of you're soaking in apple cider vinegar, or you're getting brands that pre-soak and pre Sprout, like, eaten Foods brand or jovial brand beans, chickpeas. And lentils are also easier in general to digest."

Look for a granola with 6 grams or less of sugar per serving and 3 grams or more of fiber per serving. Brands such as Wild Way and One Degree Organics are good choices, as they use dates and glyphosate-free oats respectively. Making your own granola is also a great option, sweetening it with local or Manuka honey.
 
Transcript: "As a rule of thumb, I always recommend, looking for a granola that is as low as possible and sugar, especially added sugars. So, now when you look at a food label, it will say, typically added sugars versus total sugars. The least less is more here with added sugar. So ideally something that's sweetened with dates on its own or fruit for sweetener is really the best case scenario or making your own I will link in my website where I actually have a homemade granola recipe that you can try and use something like a local honey or a manuka honey. And that way, you're regulating the amount of added sweetener there, and honey has a little bit of an immune benefit to it when it's coming from a good source like local or Manuka but as far as brand names to look for, I like a brand called wild way where they're just using dates to sweeten the granola. I also should just give the rule of thumb of Ali something with 6 grams or less of sugar per serving and three grams or more of fiber per serving. Gives you a more blood sugar stabilizing choice because we've got that balance of fiber to the sugar and then of course always remembering like less sugar is more. I also like a brand called one degree Organics. They're using glyphosate residue free. Oats oats in particular, are one of the most Tama needed with glyphosate, which is a active. It's the active ingredient chemical in originally, was in Roundup. Ready, herbicide? And we now know that it causes an opening of the tight junctions of the gut, causing, or surging intestinal permeability there for disrupting, the balance of the microbiome, and possibly causing people to be a little bit more sensitive to certain foods, possibly be Being a root cause behind autoimmune disease. So as I go on this tangent, I'm a big fan of the one degree brand because they're using that glyphosate residue-free oatmeal. And I like to support Brands who are supporting that initiative. And then again wild ways, another great one or making your own"
 my granola recipe!

It is important to support your body's sleep-wake cycle and metabolism by having a balanced breakfast with protein, fat, and carbohydrate from whole food sources. To do this, it is recommended to have a period of gut rest (no eating) for 10-12 hours overnight. Additionally, it is suggested to eat earlier in the evening to help with melatonin output and circadian rhythms.
 
Transcript: "This is a great question and some of the literature really has changed on this topic. Originally, when intermittent fasting really blew up, what we realized later is that a lot of the studies were done in men and postmenopausal women. So for women, for example, in their 20s, 30s 40s, this may not really have applied and, and have been beneficial to them. So I actually feel very strongly that starting. And supporting your body, your stress response, your metabolism by breaking the fast and having a quality, balanced breakfast with protein fat and carbohydrate, in the morning from a whole food basis, Really Trying to minimize processed food. So instead of having like, a bowl of cereal, I would really recommend having babies some eggs for a protein, or some grass-fed sausage for protein. Having some fruit for Whole Food, carb or sweet, potato or white, For Whole Food carb. And then things like avocado organic olive oil or a nut or seed butter for the fat. It is important and helpful for supporting the Circadian rhythm, meaning the sleep-wake cycle of your body to have a period of gut rest, what I like to call Gut rest, instead of intermittent fasting overnight of about 10 to 12 hours for the average person, this is individualized, but generally in the context of climate Giants. I'm working with, which is typically young women with gut issues, I recommend doing usually around that 11 to 12 hours of got rest overnight meeting, not eating anything overnight and just fluids where necessary, and then breaking that fast within an hour of waking in the morning. And what many people can do to support, this is actually working to eat earlier and not eating too late in the evening because that definitely can affect melatonin output and circadian rhythm. Of the body meaning sleep-wake cycle."

For the best smoothie ingredients, I recommend Ancient Nutrition's bone broth protein for a full spectrum of all amino acids. If you prefer dairy proteins, Paleo Valley has grass-fed whey with colostrum, which is beneficial for intestinal repair and inflammation. When it comes to vegan proteins, you should look for ones that are glyphosate residue-free, like True Jovani or Nush brands.
 
Transcript: "Okay, sourcing and additives becomes super important here. So, my all-time favorite is definitely a bone broth protein getting a grass-fed. I like, again, I mentioned brands on here. I don't work for these Brands. I just use them myself. I like a brand called ancient nutrition. They have a pure bone broth protein, so it's just no flavor. You're going to just taste the flavor of the fruit or whatever. You add to your smoothie cacao powder, Etc. So that is definitely my favorite Because it's a full spectrum of all the amino acids. Whereas I love collagen proteins but you should think about them as supplementary. They're not the full spectrum of all of the kind of complete set of essential aminos. You will get that from a bone broth protein. Specifically, if you're, someone who just absolutely loves whey protein. I see a lot of digestive dysfunction in my practice. So a lot of people don't do as well on the dairy proteins, but if you are choosing that I would recommend, it, grass-fed whey. Why I like a brand called paleo Valley for that. It actually is a grass-fed whey with colostrum in it. I believe and colostrum can be beneficial for a number of things in the body, but most predominantly for helping with intestinal repair. If you know that you're someone who has had intestinal permeability or leaky gut or a really reactive gut, it can be repaired it and anti-inflammatory to have something like colostrum combined. When it's coming from a good source. Um again in the respect to the sourcing, the thing to think about with vegan proteins, as a lot of them are really glyphosate late in. That's the active chemical that was in Roundup, pesticide herbicide. And we're seeing that. It causes a lot of disruption to the gut as well as possible influence on cancer long-term diseases like autoimmune disease. So I'm really big on getting a glyphosate residue-free tested pea protein, there's a brand called true Jovani that's glyphosate residue free as well as news asked brand generally pea protein can have a lot of glyphosate in it. So you want to absolutely avoid it unless you're getting one of those brands."
 protein powders I ❤️ here!

To help with constipation, I recommend eating two kiwis a day, one cup of cooked leafy greens and two tablespoons of soaked chia or flax seeds. Additionally, fruit and psyllium husk can be helpful in relieving symptoms.
 
Transcript: "My number one pro tip for this is two kiwis everyday kiwis have out, competed prunes, and prune juice in studies for constipation, and I can say in my private practice with clients, this is a game changer so I also have a trio of sort of constipation remedy that I give to clients that is three parts so it's two kiwis a day. One cup of cooked, leafy greens, dark leafy greens like spinach. Which kale dandelion greens, collard greens, daily and 2 tablespoons of soaked, Chia or flax seed, daily soaked specifically. So, we're optimizing the soluble fiber component, which is really that gel-like substance between the seeds when you let it soak overnight and chia, specifically does a really good job of supporting those with constipation. I will also say in general fruit is really helpful the fruit fiber and Roll is helpful for constipation. And I think a lot of people with digestive issues, maybe have fear around eating carbs or fruit. And I tend to say, let's not have you around that just get, you know, organic at seasonal if you can super important and then in addition, psyllium husk is a fiber that you can either blend into a smoothie or protein shake or add to like a pudding or applesauce that when taken daily can actually be supportive for people with IBS. Is constipation and IDs diarrhea, so it's a wonderful fiber supplement to try."