Optimal Nutrition for Life - by Ilana

07/10/2024

07/10/2024

Learning Canva at Faculty development meeting. Sharing my first education video (it will get better, I promise!) :-D

05/10/2023

Busy, busy kitchen. Interns and culinary students all prepping for two separate cooking demonstrations.

05/10/2023

Nastogastric tube placement demonstration.
Interns graduating in a week. The final clinic competencies secured!

04/07/2023

Club day. Congratulations to our amazing students hosting a table for the Food and Nutrition Club.

01/09/2021

https://www.buzzsprout.com/217999/7165504

Please join me as I interview my dear friend and dietician, Ilana Katz, MS, RD, CSSD. Ilana shares her powerful knowledge and experience as it applies to to us all, whether we are athletes still competing or just trying to stay in shape and keep ...

09/04/2020

Lets Talk Protein

In today's low-carb revolution, protein has become a fairly controversial macronutrient. The explosion of media on this (as well as many other nutrition topics) makes the reality and recommendations very confusing. Protein is one of those macro’s that is required at the “just right” level to work most effectively for an individual’s optimal health, body composition and metabolic goals.

Too much protein: Leads to fat gain or more seriously digestive organ stress. The gallbladder, liver and kidneys all work in tangent to rid the body of the by-product of protein digestion, which if too high can be toxic.

Too little protein - Leads to fatigue, less effective recovery from physical stress, and sarcopenia (loss of muscle mass).

Furthermore, the guidelines from the American Academy of Nutrition on how much protein can be confusing. There is a range suggested based on a sedentary lifestyle, versus an intensive labored lifestyle, with anywhere inbetween – and then add athletism to this mix. (Range between 0.8 grams to 1.8 grams per kilogram of body weight per day.)

And even furthermore – best sources of protein – the individual choices between plant-based protein and animal-based protein are also hugely debated.

Are you confused yet? One thing we can all agree on is that protein is an essential macronutrient required to sustain life! Where it comes from, how much is required per differing lifestyles, timing and combining it with other macros is something a professional can help you hone in on to get your best results. I would love the opportunity to iron this out for you as an individual…

eatright4sport.com

08/31/2020

http://onforlife.com/4974/newsletter/september-2020-newsletter/

08/26/2020

Eat to beat Cramps

The physiology of cramps can be complex. Nutrition may or may not have a role to play behind the why!!

Stretching out and massaging muscles can certainly be a good start but this is often NOT enough, since electrolyte balance plays a major role in muscle function and recovery.

Key nutrients include sodium, potassium, magnesium, chloride and calcium.

On a personal level, having participated in master’s swim meet, while training for Ironman races, it is not uncommon for me to observe swimmers gathering at the lanes end inbetween sets to mention their cramps. It amazes me how everyone in the pool suddenly becomes a nutritionist, and I bet you can guess which foods they suggest?

Did you have a banana in your thought processing just then? (well you are not alone) – as most of us know, bananas are a good source of potassium. Interestingly enough, they also have a decent source of magnesium and calcium. Its no wonder most of you would be right about recommending a banana at the side of the pool…. But, there may be the fine line between some other factors as to whether bananas may eliminate the cramps, or in fact preserve the cramp.

Did all you swimming nutritionists consider some very important physiology of sweat and muscle movement. What else may play a role?
- Hydration
- Supplementation
- Intensity and duration and type of exercise/training
- Medications side effects (yep, most forget this one)

Why wait for the why, why not avoid the onset? Or at very least, fix the problem rather than exacerbate it.

Click on my bio or visit me at my website, and EAT TO BEAT sport-induced CRAMP!

eatright4sport.com

08/25/2020

A Fibrous Discussion

Did you know that as high as 70% of the population has some form of digestive complaint or other.
Common complaints range from constipation, diarrhea, bloating and gas… I get that this may not be the most comfortable conversation to have, but us dietitians are used to it, and it is never TMI (too much information) for us (the more we know, the more we can strategize to find relief.)

Furthermore, GI distress is the most common reason (ultra)/endurance athletes fail to complete a long training day or even race day event. Most common reason here is the combination of all the sugars that are required for constant glycogen feed to provide energy.

What is the common denominator – our gut’s microbiota! (the good versus bad bacteria that enable digestion to work as smoothly as possible (pun intended!) whether we are relaxing, getting on with daily living tasks, or undergoing high intensity activity.

It could be as simple as the daily intake of fiber in combination with the regulation of hydration, simultaneous to timing of pre-workout, post work out and during work out energy and daily energy intake.
GI distress can be relieved with optimal amounts of both soluble and insoluble fiber. But how to manage handling athletic GI distress may require a more specific sports nutrition strategy.

Your gut needs as much training as your endurance. Do you strategize for racing/training nutrition – or wing it? Need help mapping out your strategy. Check out my bio… I can help. Eatright4sport.com

08/04/2020

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/quarantine-15-ilana-katz

How are you staying active and healthy during this crazy National and Global pandemic? I can only bet that there are challenges and difficulties, part of which involve reducing the risk of unwanted weight gain. Oh yes, it’s a thing… the well-known Freshman-15 has evolved into the quarantine-15.

08/04/2020

https://www.eatright4sport.com/post/miraculous-magnesium

The USA has the highest rate of dairy consumption, yet it also has the highest rate of osteoporosis. Does this not seem preposterous? It was this observation that got me reanalyzing some metabolic pathways involving calcium. During this research, I also noticed a high percentage of my clients that r...

08/03/2020

http://onforlife.com/4960/newsletter/august-2020-newsletter/

07/13/2020

Most fast food concoctions include an average of more than 50 chemicals, trying to imitate the flavors of "real" fruit, such as ethyl acetate, phenethyl alcohol, solvents, etc. Why not make your own and use REAL fruit?

Here's a great recipe I call Green Monster: cut up pineapple, banana, handful of spinach, vanilla protein powder, ice and water. Blend a together (amounts of ingredients can vary depending on personal body composition goals)!