The Global Dietitian

24/10/2025

Tell me you’re an American living overseas without telling me. I’ll start. 🎃🍁🍂 🍁

17/10/2025

Journée de la menopause avec des collègues. Nous avons assisté une conférence pour apprendre comment mieux soutenir les femmes (et nous-mêmes).

One day ahead of World Menopause Awareness Day, and I joined dozens of other healthcare professionals to learn more about helping women (including ourselves!) protect their health - especially their heart - during the menopause transition. ❤️‍🩹

14/10/2025

Midlife brain changes are REAL and often kind of distressing: Is it perimenopause? Is it early onset dementia? Have I completely lost the plot? WTF is happening and why did I come into this room anyway? 😫

We can’t turn back the clock, but we can make sure our nutrition and lifestyle support a healthy and well-fueled brain. 🧠

See slides for my Top 10 Tips for the Care & Feeding of your Meno-brain (plus a Bonus #11 : Seek hormonal supplementation if it’s appropriate to your situation. It can make a big difference!). 💪

p.s. Brain changes tend to level out following the final menstrual period as hormones level out, so there’s cause for optimism! 🎉

p.p.s. If you have ADHD, you may feel more intense or erratic changes and may need to adjust your ADHD medication to help manage things better.

13/10/2025

Feel like your ADHD gets a little crazy when your hormones are shifting? You are not imagining this!

Estrogen and progesterone levels have a direct effect on neurotransmitters such as dopamine. Highly fluctuating levels of these hormones can happen during:

* Puberty (when many girls are first diagnosed with ADHD)
* Right before the start of the menstrual cycle (luteal phase) - PMS, PMDD
* Pregnancy (or during things like IVF treatments for infertility)
* Post-partum
* Perimenopause

These hormonal changes can directly affect cognition, mood, energy levels and memory. Executive function, including planning, organization skills, time management and emotional control can also be highly affected. 🧠

If you have ADHD, these changes may hit you much harder than for a neurotypical woman. However, it’s not just your brain that’s affected, the entire body and brain can be hit with heightened levels of pain, increased occurrence of anxiety or depression, and mood changes that are more than just “minor.” 😫

It’s not your fault.

Talk with your healthcare team about adding or adjusting medications for ADHD and/or hormonal treatments during these times. And build out your toolkit of balanced nutrition, key supplements, exercise, sleep and stress management to help support you when times get tough. You don’t have to suffer. 💕

Reach out to me for a personalized nutrition and lifestyle plan. 📋

p.s. Don’t have an ADHD diagnosis, but all this sounds super familiar? Many women go undiagnosed until perimenopause hits. Talk to your doctor. 🤗

Study: Front. Glob. Women’s Health, 07 July 2025, Volume 6 - 2025, https://doi.org/10.3389/fgwh.2025.1613628

09/10/2025

Important article about the risks and dangers of developing an eating disorder in midlife. Don’t think it won’t happen to you. It can. And it often happens fast.

Midlife weight gain is a major trigger for emotional distress, body image concerns and restrictive dieting. It’s not harmless.

Please work with your healthcare team to devise a medication, nutrition and/or lifestyle strategy that meets your needs. Your muscles, bones, skin, hair and mental health will all thank you. 💕

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/menorexia-midlife-eating-disorder.

07/10/2025

Your Menopause Awareness Month reminder that bodies are meant to change. It’s ok to let them. To support them. Celebrate them. Befriend them. And stop fighting them. You’re amazing use as you are.

06/10/2025

Hot topic-Hot take. 🔥

GLP-1 receptor agonists are impressive and potent medications that have a lot of potential to improve some individuals’ overall health - from reducing insulin resistance, improving cardiovascular and kidney health to weight loss and even, potentially, in reducing addictive behavioral patterns.

However, their potency, especially the combined GLP-1RA/GIP medications is such that many individuals lose a lot of weight at a VERY rapid pace.

In the medical world, an individual is considered at significant malnutrition risk if they lose 5-10% of their body weight over the course of 3-6 months.

Studies have shown that GLP-1 or GLP-1/GIP medications can lead to weight loss in the *average* of 15-21% of their initial body weight. Some loss more than 30%.

This doesn’t automatically mean someone is malnourished, but it certainly increases the risk they may be(come)! Especially if they struggle with eating a variety of foods due to low appetite or nausea.

Recent research has shown that nutritional deficiencies can become apparent within as little as 6 months on these medications, and other studies have shown that muscle loss is significant (up to 25% of the total weight lost). Increased fracture risk is another major factor in such rapid weight loss that may be accompanied by poor nutrition alongside other risk factors (ex. sedentary lifestyle, aging, smoking, other medications).

I plan to do a reel on this soon to discuss this a bit more, but for now, if you are taking one of these medications or considering it, please make sure you get a nutrition consultation as well! Your health is important and I want to ensure it’s protected. And check the full blog post for more tips.

05/10/2025

Another from the archives in celebration of Menopause Awareness Month.

I wrote this article back in 2021 (and updated slightly in 2022) well before we had the wealth of studies we have now on the effects of hormonal fluctuations of perimenopause on NEARLY EVERY SYSTEM IN THE FEMALE BODY. 💥

Women diagnosed with IBS, irritable bowel syndrome, before menopause are already all too aware that monthly hormonal changes can have huge effects on the gut. With the arrival of perimenopause (which, by the way can last anywhere from 2-10 years, though the average is about 4), these monthly fluctuations can become daily challenges. We also know that as estrogen drops during the menopause transition, inflammation can increase, including in the gut - so women who may not have been previously diagnosed with IBS may find increasing and very uncomfortable symptoms. 😫

And, if you are a woman with autism or ADHD, visceral pain sensitivity is often quite heightened, leading to exacerbation of abdominal pain, discomfort, bloating and the like. We also know that there is a link between neurodivergence and IBS. For example, one recent study found that individuals with ADHD are 63% more likely to have IBS than neurotypical individuals.

Add in brain changes in perimenopause, which can lead to increasing anxiety and depression, and the gut-brain axis can take a big hit. 🧠

If you are struggling with new(-er) onset gastrointestinal issues in your 40s and 50s, you’re not alone. And you don’t need to suffer. There are myriad tools, medications, dietary changes and lifestyle strategies that can help. And if your gut issues were previously pretty controlled but now feel out of hand, don’t just tough it out. Reach out to me to chat and talk with your doctor or gastroenterologist. (HRT may also play a role in relief).

Read the original article: https://www.fodmapeveryday.com/menopause-and-ibs-whats-happening-what-to-expect/

04/10/2025

Have you ever heard the idea that “failing to plan” means “planning to fail”?

It’s a snarky way of reminding us that planning is important. But I like to flip it around a bit and remind myself that we all will likely “fail” at various times and that’s 100% ok. Expecting “failure” and understanding that our energy levels and ability to “get everything under control” on any given day will vary is a form of self-care

So, while I don’t think we should call it “failing,” I DO think we should understand that some days are going to be busy/stressful/filled with chaos and our best intentions for feeding ourselves well may fall by the wayside. We’re human. (Thankfully they’re not ALL bad days!)

I also encourage my clients to strategically use the less hectic & chaotic times to identify simple or quick things they can do to still eat nutritiously during the busy moments.

Et Voila: Behold, my list of 12 Foods You Should Have in Your ADHD Kitchen!

This isn’t a magic list, nor the only list of foods you should have (especially if your family or cultural foods are much different than what I’ve listed here!). But it gives you a starting point for a handful of foods that you can keep in your house at nearly all times (most are canned, shelf-stable, frozen or naturally have a long-life). It’s your nutritional “backstop.” Your safety net. Your tough day friend.

I also provide a few ideas for ways you can combine these same 12 foods to create a variety of different meal options (and the final page offers some ideas for sauces & condiments that are handy to have around and can make even the most average meal taste better!)

Save this post for those days when you think “I just can’t,” or are tempted to order takeout or just skip eating altogether. Sit down with your partner or family to create your own list of “must have foods” for your household, based on your tastes/favorite meals. Put your list where you can see it, so decision-making & guesswork is minimal.

Tell me, what quick & easy meals are on your Rescue Meal list?

19/03/2025

Be sure to listen in on Friday!

New Episode out Friday! In this episode, Diana shares what to look out for as parents, how to approach the subject with your kids, and what the resources are here in Luxembourg if you’re an English speaking parent who needs help or more information. (Including what is and is not covered by CNS). If you or someone you know has a kid that may be struggling with disordered eating, this is one you don't want to miss! Subscribe now wherever you get your podcasts, or tune in to on Friday at 11 AM.