Podcast
Fueling Your Body for Energy
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00:00
About the Show
From aging to genetics, we’re exploring the balance between nutrition and metabolism in this four part series.
On this episode, Chuck Gaidica is joined by Registered Dietitian for Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, Shanthi Appelö. Together, they explore how to optimize food choices to fuel our body.
In this episode of A Healthier Michigan Podcast, we explore:
- How different types of food affect energy levels and metabolism
- Nutrient-rich foods that can help boost energy throughout the day
- If there's specific foods that can improve metabolic efficiency
- The connection between blood sugar regulation and sustained energy levels
In the next episode, we’ll go beyond calorie counts to uncover the truth about nutrient quality and whether it matters for your metabolism.
Transcript
Here is the full transcript of this episode. You can listen to the audio version on streaming platforms or watch on YouTube.
Chuck Gaidica:
This is a Healthier Michigan podcast. I'm your host, Chuck Gaidica. And in this series we're exploring the balance between nutrition and metabolism. Continuing with part two in our four-part series, we're exploring how to optimize food choices to fuel our body. Back with us again is registered dietitian for Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, Shanthi Appelö, who's leading us through this series. So we'll get back to our conversation. I thought the last episode, the very first one of this series was awesome. I mean, I learned a whole lot about metabolism, which is great.
Shanthi Appelö:
Good. A little nutrition 101, if you will.
Chuck Gaidica:
No, that's good stuff. And we can apparently control what we eat. We all try to do that, and it seems like the right diet can make a big difference in how we're energized. You were talking about even from baby all the way up into our nineties, we can make a big difference with the right diet. So how do we balance diet and metabolism to ensure that we're feeling energized and satiated, that we're full through the day? What are some of the things to concentrate on?
Shanthi Appelö:
So when it comes to how foods affect our energy level and our metabolism, I think we can touch on the metabolism side of things first. The last episode we talked about how there's three components that make up our metabolism, our basal metabolic rate that makes up the biggest part, and then the energy that we use to move in our day and then that thermic effect of food, which is five to 10% of our energy use, where our body needs to use energy to break food down and to get our nutrients to go the place they need to go. And so when it comes to this, it's important to understand that protein has a higher thermic effect than carbs and fat. So it's a good idea to get enough of it in our diet.
Now, most Americans do get enough in terms of sustaining our bodies, not having malnutrition and things like that. But there are some good calculators out there if you're curious about how much protein you need. I will say that a lot of people get recommended at gyms and different places to consume perhaps a little bit more than you need. And so get down to the calculator, look at your personal factors like your age and your activity level to determine that. But then there's this idea of how different foods affect our energy and this is where I think we can focus a little bit more of our conversation on.
Chuck Gaidica:
And let me just go back a minute to these calculators because I've tried to use those, and I'll tell you a place that I get a bit confused, and maybe I'm using a rudimentary calculator. I need a better one. But it will say, "Multiply your body weight by 0.4, blah, blah, blah." It gives you the calculation.
Shanthi Appelö:
Those are hard.
Chuck Gaidica:
So I convert from kilograms to pounds. I do the math.
Shanthi Appelö:
You're like, "I passed eighth grade. Come on.
Chuck Gaidica:
Well, here's where I get confused though, Shanthi. I see the number come out and I'm like, "That's a lot of protein." But if I'm looking to drop 10 pounds, am I trying to eat the protein for the weight I am or the weight I want to be? Because I don't ever that question come up, maybe it's just me.
Shanthi Appelö:
So we want to look at protein in the weight that you are, but also when it comes to those calculators, oftentimes it's going to be the Mifflin-St. Jeor equation, I think. And that is basically the gold standard in terms of determining our energy needs. And usually what we say as a recommendation is that it's Mifflin-St. Jeor equation for all the factors that play into your energy needs, like your age, your activity level. Yada, yada, yada, minus 500 calories a day. That's a safe place to be in terms of weight loss calorically.
Chuck Gaidica:
Interesting.
Shanthi Appelö:
But the NIH has a really good calculator. We just want to make sure that we're using a reputable source. And what's great about that calculator is that you just input all the different factors and it does it for you. So you don't have to... You're like, "Oh, I multiply first, subtract later."
Chuck Gaidica:
This new math the kids are using, that's what's throwing me. Well, what you just said, like the calculators I'm using, I won't go any farther into this, but if it's from the National Institute of Health, I'm going to search that one up because I'm not being asked for age or any other factors. It's just saying, "Give me your weight, multiply by this, and here's your number." And I'm looking at it going, "How many eggs can I eat in a day?" I mean, it's just nutty protein. So to be fair, as a guy, I am trying to lift weights and do the right stuff, but I am not looking to be Arnold Schwarzenegger. I don't want to bulk up.
Shanthi Appelö:
I think that's an interesting thing to touch on too, just quickly is that... And this was actually one of the basis of the research I did in school, because a lot of people associate protein intake with building muscle. But the most important part of the muscle building is actually doing the activity itself. And then of course the protein helps support that. But the most important thing we can do is do the exercise.
Chuck Gaidica:
It's the weight lifting or something, right? You're saying that's the most important.
Shanthi Appelö:
Yes. And of course, getting enough protein does help with that. And the more exercise we do generally, the more protein we need, and that's where that activity level comes in.
Chuck Gaidica:
So if you look at the kind of foods that we're ingesting through our day, through our entire lives, what are some of the nutrient rich foods that may actually be able to help boost our energy throughout the day?
Shanthi Appelö:
So I like to think about it in terms of how we digest certain foods. So for example, if I'm drinking a sugary soda, that is mostly just sucrose, which is something that's super easy for our body to break down. So as soon as we ingest it, we start breaking it down and that energy goes straight to our blood and then into our cells to be used for energy immediately. Now, that doesn't give us the long-lasting energy that we need. And so we need to look at things in terms of our preferred carbohydrate source or preferred source of energy, I should say, which are carbohydrates that take longer to digest. So that means it's more complex.
So our body's going to need to do a little bit more work, and that slows it down and make sure that we are getting incremental energy and more sustained energy levels. So that means things that have a lot of fiber, things that are more complex. So for example, when we look at white bread, not very complex. It's been refined, it's ultra processed. It's had all these processes where they're already broken down quite a bit for us versus if we look at a whole wheat bread with maybe some nuts and seeds and all kinds of things. It's more complicated for our bodies to digest and so it's going to take longer.
That fiber helps slow down the digestion process, and then we get more long-lasting energy. So that's why hearty carbohydrates from things like oats, brown rice and things like that are going to be great.
Chuck Gaidica:
Man, am I feeling good about breakfast today now. Big bowl of oatmeal, blueberries, a banana, some walnuts broken up, and a little bit of protein powder, because I know I'm talking to Shanthi, so I've got to carry some of that, but I feel really good now. It kind of sounds like I did the right stuff.
Shanthi Appelö:
You did. Oats are a perfect part of breakfast, also snacks if you wanted to fit that in. But other breakfast foods, ones that I'm particularly crazy about at the moment is chia seed pudding. I make it with some yogurt for protein, some milk, also has a little bit of protein and then a little bit of nut butter. So I'm adding some healthy fats to the mix, also getting, of course, fats and fiber from the chia seeds. And then I serve it with fruit.
And I love it because it's this pudding like texture. It's coming from that fiber because whenever you get chia seeds wet, they kind of puff up, and that kind of gives you that sense of fullness and also is a really nice texture. And then in mine, I love to add a ton of dark cocoa powder, so I'm not adding chocolate per se in terms of the fat and stuff. But that cocoa powder has the fiber, the antioxidants, and a really nice flavor. So that's been my go-to.
Chuck Gaidica:
Very cool. So are we missing any other nutrient rich foods that should be helping us?
Shanthi Appelö:
Of course, when we're thinking about nutrients, we want the vitamins, the minerals, the antioxidants and things like that to help fuel our bodies in other ways. They help the processes that help our metabolism. And so it's going to be important to get those five fruits and vegetables today. And so if you're thinking about a snack, an apple is great, especially when it has to peel on it because it's got that fiber. It's going to give you some long-lasting energy because of that, because it's going to take a moment to digest. But it's also fueling us with a lot of nutrients like the vitamins and minerals that we need.
Chuck Gaidica:
And the old adage, an apple a day keeps the doctor away. There's a lot to that. And what's interesting is you say apple, and I'm thinking, "Well, there's still sugar in it, but it's not the vacuous, pound down the drink and get the spike from the sugar." You're still getting all the other goodness in the apple. I know it's got sugar, but it's a whole different kind of ball game.
Shanthi Appelö:
And we shouldn't really worry about the sugar that's found in fruit unless we're adding it to it, right? And so that's what we should think about throughout the day. Are we getting these hearty carbohydrate sources? Because our brains really do need that energy in forms of glucose or the simple form of carbohydrates to get fueled. And I think a lot of us get afraid of carbohydrates. These low-carb diets have shown to produce a lot of weight loss over the years for people. Though we see that they're not long-lasting weight loss, but I think it's made a lot of people afraid of consuming carbohydrates. So it's just comes down to we should be eating them, but let's make sure that they're from healthy sources.
Chuck Gaidica:
So what about specific foods or even eating habits? You'll see these things. I wouldn't even call them studies, maybe sometimes they're related to a study. If you chew more when you're eating your food, you'll work off more calories. All these ideas that come along. But what about specific foods and even eating habits, maybe that is one of them that can improve metabolic efficiency?
Shanthi Appelö:
So eating regular meal times, that's going to help. So our five small meals a day, that's going to help keep metabolism at a steady rate. Another thing that we can do is just make sure that we're staying hydrated throughout the day because that helps us not feel so sluggish, prevents that brain fog, but it also helps our metabolism function the way that it should. Some research says that eating hot chilies and green tea is going to help boost our metabolism. It could, maybe a smidgen, but not enough to really make a difference. So that's not really something we should be focusing on specific foods necessarily, but more so just making sure that we're eating regularly and also getting some exercise in.
Chuck Gaidica:
So you mentioned last episode and this one, this idea of five meals a day, or I asked that question about three with maybe two healthy snacks. For a lot of us, that's not been the habit we have. So you're encouraging us to really think go a little broader than just three meals a day and then wait for later tonight while binging some show to eat some snacks to put in these two other healthy meals, even small ones or snacks, right?
Shanthi Appelö:
The snacks. And one of the big reasons for that too is whenever we've gone too long without eating and it's time to eat finally, a lot of people go overboard and they're eating faster because they're trying to satiate that hunger. And it takes 15, 20 minutes for our brain to recognize that we're full. And so it's a good idea that we're entering the meal, not feeling out of control, hungry. Instead, we're just at a steady rate kind of satisfying our hunger throughout the day.
Chuck Gaidica:
So when you think about some people, and I know some people will have insulin issues, diabetes or something, but the connection between blood sugar regulation and sustained energy levels, what is that connection?
Shanthi Appelö:
So that's another good point to eating regular meals throughout the day, is that it keeps your blood sugar level stable. And for most people who don't have diabetes, our blood sugar levels tend to stay pretty stable. Now they can get on the lower side, and that can make us feel fatigued. It can decrease our energy. It can make us have some mood swings up and down. And so it's a good idea to keep that stable because it's going to help us just more efficiently work throughout our day and feel better. So again, that's why eating regularly is a good idea.
Chuck Gaidica:
And then adding those sugary drinks in parts of your day, does that not create a spike then? Don't you feel like you've climbed the mountain and like, "Oh yeah, this is giving me..." Or maybe it's psychological, a little boost, but then coming back down from that sugar high, that's not always going to make for a great rest of your day either, is it?
Shanthi Appelö:
So you're right that it does create a spike because when we think about a drink, for example, that has 50 grams of sugar, I told you earlier in the episode that we break it down immediately in our body and then it's in the blood, it's going to the cells, and then we got this overload of energy. And so it's bound not to last very long, and you might feel really sluggish afterwards. So that's a good point. Another thing is that if we're eating regularly throughout the day, we're getting the nutrients that we need and we get to have a smaller dinner. It can make us sleep better because sometimes if our dinner is too big, maybe we're bound to kind of rest afterwards.
Our body is trying to digest. It's using energy to break down all those food components. We're not going to feel so great after and especially if you're kind of taking a nap after dinner, maybe you're not sleeping as well later. So I think there's a lot of things that feed into how good we feel. Something really great that you can do too is take a 15-minute walk, just a little bit of physical activity. It can help those blood sugar levels stay more stable after a meal.
Chuck Gaidica:
And I've always been encouraged because I've shifted my pattern. Even when I have to return a phone call to somebody, regardless of the weather, it will hopefully start getting into weather that's going to be amiable to letting us all go outside for walks. But I'm making a call, I'm walking around in circles in the house. I'm just adding that little bit of something after a meal or anytime in the day just to add a little more movement, because why not? Nobody really is any wiser than I'm going for a walk in the house.
Shanthi Appelö:
For sure.
Chuck Gaidica:
Well, so much good stuff. What about a takeaway for this episode, part two of four?
Shanthi Appelö:
I think when it comes to all these things that we've talked about, sustained energy, eating small meals, whatever, I think do what works for you and your schedule. Don't fight to try to do something that's not going to fit into your lifestyle. But I think there are tools to help you get there. For example, something that works really good for me is having a library of snacks, breakfast meals that I can gravitate towards that I know that if I look at this list, "Ooh, this is easy to prepare, this is going to fit into what I can do now." Because sometimes we get into the habit of eating the same things over and over again and we forget, "Oh, what was that thing that I used to eat that was really good?" So keeping that library can be a good idea.
Chuck Gaidica:
And also being excited about it. I mean, just by you talking about chia pudding and a little cacao in there, whatever's going on, I mean, you're kind of lighting up as you're discussing it. And to find those things that you really enjoy doing is a win. It's just a win because you're talking about it because you love it. So that's great.
Shanthi Appelö:
Same to you and your oats.
Chuck Gaidica:
I do, actually I do. It's good to see you. Thanks for the help.
Shanthi Appelö:
Thanks, Chuck.
Chuck Gaidica:
We've covered how nutrition fuels our body, but not all food is created equal. In the next episode, we'll go beyond calorie counts to uncover the truth about nutrient quality and whether it matters for your metabolism. And if you've enjoyed this episode and you want to check out more, you can find us on Apple Podcast, Spotify, and YouTube, where we post new episodes every other week. Be well.
This is a Healthier Michigan podcast. I'm your host, Chuck Gaidica. And in this series we're exploring the balance between nutrition and metabolism. Continuing with part two in our four-part series, we're exploring how to optimize food choices to fuel our body. Back with us again is registered dietitian for Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, Shanthi Appelö, who's leading us through this series. So we'll get back to our conversation. I thought the last episode, the very first one of this series was awesome. I mean, I learned a whole lot about metabolism, which is great.
Shanthi Appelö:
Good. A little nutrition 101, if you will.
Chuck Gaidica:
No, that's good stuff. And we can apparently control what we eat. We all try to do that, and it seems like the right diet can make a big difference in how we're energized. You were talking about even from baby all the way up into our nineties, we can make a big difference with the right diet. So how do we balance diet and metabolism to ensure that we're feeling energized and satiated, that we're full through the day? What are some of the things to concentrate on?
Shanthi Appelö:
So when it comes to how foods affect our energy level and our metabolism, I think we can touch on the metabolism side of things first. The last episode we talked about how there's three components that make up our metabolism, our basal metabolic rate that makes up the biggest part, and then the energy that we use to move in our day and then that thermic effect of food, which is five to 10% of our energy use, where our body needs to use energy to break food down and to get our nutrients to go the place they need to go. And so when it comes to this, it's important to understand that protein has a higher thermic effect than carbs and fat. So it's a good idea to get enough of it in our diet.
Now, most Americans do get enough in terms of sustaining our bodies, not having malnutrition and things like that. But there are some good calculators out there if you're curious about how much protein you need. I will say that a lot of people get recommended at gyms and different places to consume perhaps a little bit more than you need. And so get down to the calculator, look at your personal factors like your age and your activity level to determine that. But then there's this idea of how different foods affect our energy and this is where I think we can focus a little bit more of our conversation on.
Chuck Gaidica:
And let me just go back a minute to these calculators because I've tried to use those, and I'll tell you a place that I get a bit confused, and maybe I'm using a rudimentary calculator. I need a better one. But it will say, "Multiply your body weight by 0.4, blah, blah, blah." It gives you the calculation.
Shanthi Appelö:
Those are hard.
Chuck Gaidica:
So I convert from kilograms to pounds. I do the math.
Shanthi Appelö:
You're like, "I passed eighth grade. Come on.
Chuck Gaidica:
Well, here's where I get confused though, Shanthi. I see the number come out and I'm like, "That's a lot of protein." But if I'm looking to drop 10 pounds, am I trying to eat the protein for the weight I am or the weight I want to be? Because I don't ever that question come up, maybe it's just me.
Shanthi Appelö:
So we want to look at protein in the weight that you are, but also when it comes to those calculators, oftentimes it's going to be the Mifflin-St. Jeor equation, I think. And that is basically the gold standard in terms of determining our energy needs. And usually what we say as a recommendation is that it's Mifflin-St. Jeor equation for all the factors that play into your energy needs, like your age, your activity level. Yada, yada, yada, minus 500 calories a day. That's a safe place to be in terms of weight loss calorically.
Chuck Gaidica:
Interesting.
Shanthi Appelö:
But the NIH has a really good calculator. We just want to make sure that we're using a reputable source. And what's great about that calculator is that you just input all the different factors and it does it for you. So you don't have to... You're like, "Oh, I multiply first, subtract later."
Chuck Gaidica:
This new math the kids are using, that's what's throwing me. Well, what you just said, like the calculators I'm using, I won't go any farther into this, but if it's from the National Institute of Health, I'm going to search that one up because I'm not being asked for age or any other factors. It's just saying, "Give me your weight, multiply by this, and here's your number." And I'm looking at it going, "How many eggs can I eat in a day?" I mean, it's just nutty protein. So to be fair, as a guy, I am trying to lift weights and do the right stuff, but I am not looking to be Arnold Schwarzenegger. I don't want to bulk up.
Shanthi Appelö:
I think that's an interesting thing to touch on too, just quickly is that... And this was actually one of the basis of the research I did in school, because a lot of people associate protein intake with building muscle. But the most important part of the muscle building is actually doing the activity itself. And then of course the protein helps support that. But the most important thing we can do is do the exercise.
Chuck Gaidica:
It's the weight lifting or something, right? You're saying that's the most important.
Shanthi Appelö:
Yes. And of course, getting enough protein does help with that. And the more exercise we do generally, the more protein we need, and that's where that activity level comes in.
Chuck Gaidica:
So if you look at the kind of foods that we're ingesting through our day, through our entire lives, what are some of the nutrient rich foods that may actually be able to help boost our energy throughout the day?
Shanthi Appelö:
So I like to think about it in terms of how we digest certain foods. So for example, if I'm drinking a sugary soda, that is mostly just sucrose, which is something that's super easy for our body to break down. So as soon as we ingest it, we start breaking it down and that energy goes straight to our blood and then into our cells to be used for energy immediately. Now, that doesn't give us the long-lasting energy that we need. And so we need to look at things in terms of our preferred carbohydrate source or preferred source of energy, I should say, which are carbohydrates that take longer to digest. So that means it's more complex.
So our body's going to need to do a little bit more work, and that slows it down and make sure that we are getting incremental energy and more sustained energy levels. So that means things that have a lot of fiber, things that are more complex. So for example, when we look at white bread, not very complex. It's been refined, it's ultra processed. It's had all these processes where they're already broken down quite a bit for us versus if we look at a whole wheat bread with maybe some nuts and seeds and all kinds of things. It's more complicated for our bodies to digest and so it's going to take longer.
That fiber helps slow down the digestion process, and then we get more long-lasting energy. So that's why hearty carbohydrates from things like oats, brown rice and things like that are going to be great.
Chuck Gaidica:
Man, am I feeling good about breakfast today now. Big bowl of oatmeal, blueberries, a banana, some walnuts broken up, and a little bit of protein powder, because I know I'm talking to Shanthi, so I've got to carry some of that, but I feel really good now. It kind of sounds like I did the right stuff.
Shanthi Appelö:
You did. Oats are a perfect part of breakfast, also snacks if you wanted to fit that in. But other breakfast foods, ones that I'm particularly crazy about at the moment is chia seed pudding. I make it with some yogurt for protein, some milk, also has a little bit of protein and then a little bit of nut butter. So I'm adding some healthy fats to the mix, also getting, of course, fats and fiber from the chia seeds. And then I serve it with fruit.
And I love it because it's this pudding like texture. It's coming from that fiber because whenever you get chia seeds wet, they kind of puff up, and that kind of gives you that sense of fullness and also is a really nice texture. And then in mine, I love to add a ton of dark cocoa powder, so I'm not adding chocolate per se in terms of the fat and stuff. But that cocoa powder has the fiber, the antioxidants, and a really nice flavor. So that's been my go-to.
Chuck Gaidica:
Very cool. So are we missing any other nutrient rich foods that should be helping us?
Shanthi Appelö:
Of course, when we're thinking about nutrients, we want the vitamins, the minerals, the antioxidants and things like that to help fuel our bodies in other ways. They help the processes that help our metabolism. And so it's going to be important to get those five fruits and vegetables today. And so if you're thinking about a snack, an apple is great, especially when it has to peel on it because it's got that fiber. It's going to give you some long-lasting energy because of that, because it's going to take a moment to digest. But it's also fueling us with a lot of nutrients like the vitamins and minerals that we need.
Chuck Gaidica:
And the old adage, an apple a day keeps the doctor away. There's a lot to that. And what's interesting is you say apple, and I'm thinking, "Well, there's still sugar in it, but it's not the vacuous, pound down the drink and get the spike from the sugar." You're still getting all the other goodness in the apple. I know it's got sugar, but it's a whole different kind of ball game.
Shanthi Appelö:
And we shouldn't really worry about the sugar that's found in fruit unless we're adding it to it, right? And so that's what we should think about throughout the day. Are we getting these hearty carbohydrate sources? Because our brains really do need that energy in forms of glucose or the simple form of carbohydrates to get fueled. And I think a lot of us get afraid of carbohydrates. These low-carb diets have shown to produce a lot of weight loss over the years for people. Though we see that they're not long-lasting weight loss, but I think it's made a lot of people afraid of consuming carbohydrates. So it's just comes down to we should be eating them, but let's make sure that they're from healthy sources.
Chuck Gaidica:
So what about specific foods or even eating habits? You'll see these things. I wouldn't even call them studies, maybe sometimes they're related to a study. If you chew more when you're eating your food, you'll work off more calories. All these ideas that come along. But what about specific foods and even eating habits, maybe that is one of them that can improve metabolic efficiency?
Shanthi Appelö:
So eating regular meal times, that's going to help. So our five small meals a day, that's going to help keep metabolism at a steady rate. Another thing that we can do is just make sure that we're staying hydrated throughout the day because that helps us not feel so sluggish, prevents that brain fog, but it also helps our metabolism function the way that it should. Some research says that eating hot chilies and green tea is going to help boost our metabolism. It could, maybe a smidgen, but not enough to really make a difference. So that's not really something we should be focusing on specific foods necessarily, but more so just making sure that we're eating regularly and also getting some exercise in.
Chuck Gaidica:
So you mentioned last episode and this one, this idea of five meals a day, or I asked that question about three with maybe two healthy snacks. For a lot of us, that's not been the habit we have. So you're encouraging us to really think go a little broader than just three meals a day and then wait for later tonight while binging some show to eat some snacks to put in these two other healthy meals, even small ones or snacks, right?
Shanthi Appelö:
The snacks. And one of the big reasons for that too is whenever we've gone too long without eating and it's time to eat finally, a lot of people go overboard and they're eating faster because they're trying to satiate that hunger. And it takes 15, 20 minutes for our brain to recognize that we're full. And so it's a good idea that we're entering the meal, not feeling out of control, hungry. Instead, we're just at a steady rate kind of satisfying our hunger throughout the day.
Chuck Gaidica:
So when you think about some people, and I know some people will have insulin issues, diabetes or something, but the connection between blood sugar regulation and sustained energy levels, what is that connection?
Shanthi Appelö:
So that's another good point to eating regular meals throughout the day, is that it keeps your blood sugar level stable. And for most people who don't have diabetes, our blood sugar levels tend to stay pretty stable. Now they can get on the lower side, and that can make us feel fatigued. It can decrease our energy. It can make us have some mood swings up and down. And so it's a good idea to keep that stable because it's going to help us just more efficiently work throughout our day and feel better. So again, that's why eating regularly is a good idea.
Chuck Gaidica:
And then adding those sugary drinks in parts of your day, does that not create a spike then? Don't you feel like you've climbed the mountain and like, "Oh yeah, this is giving me..." Or maybe it's psychological, a little boost, but then coming back down from that sugar high, that's not always going to make for a great rest of your day either, is it?
Shanthi Appelö:
So you're right that it does create a spike because when we think about a drink, for example, that has 50 grams of sugar, I told you earlier in the episode that we break it down immediately in our body and then it's in the blood, it's going to the cells, and then we got this overload of energy. And so it's bound not to last very long, and you might feel really sluggish afterwards. So that's a good point. Another thing is that if we're eating regularly throughout the day, we're getting the nutrients that we need and we get to have a smaller dinner. It can make us sleep better because sometimes if our dinner is too big, maybe we're bound to kind of rest afterwards.
Our body is trying to digest. It's using energy to break down all those food components. We're not going to feel so great after and especially if you're kind of taking a nap after dinner, maybe you're not sleeping as well later. So I think there's a lot of things that feed into how good we feel. Something really great that you can do too is take a 15-minute walk, just a little bit of physical activity. It can help those blood sugar levels stay more stable after a meal.
Chuck Gaidica:
And I've always been encouraged because I've shifted my pattern. Even when I have to return a phone call to somebody, regardless of the weather, it will hopefully start getting into weather that's going to be amiable to letting us all go outside for walks. But I'm making a call, I'm walking around in circles in the house. I'm just adding that little bit of something after a meal or anytime in the day just to add a little more movement, because why not? Nobody really is any wiser than I'm going for a walk in the house.
Shanthi Appelö:
For sure.
Chuck Gaidica:
Well, so much good stuff. What about a takeaway for this episode, part two of four?
Shanthi Appelö:
I think when it comes to all these things that we've talked about, sustained energy, eating small meals, whatever, I think do what works for you and your schedule. Don't fight to try to do something that's not going to fit into your lifestyle. But I think there are tools to help you get there. For example, something that works really good for me is having a library of snacks, breakfast meals that I can gravitate towards that I know that if I look at this list, "Ooh, this is easy to prepare, this is going to fit into what I can do now." Because sometimes we get into the habit of eating the same things over and over again and we forget, "Oh, what was that thing that I used to eat that was really good?" So keeping that library can be a good idea.
Chuck Gaidica:
And also being excited about it. I mean, just by you talking about chia pudding and a little cacao in there, whatever's going on, I mean, you're kind of lighting up as you're discussing it. And to find those things that you really enjoy doing is a win. It's just a win because you're talking about it because you love it. So that's great.
Shanthi Appelö:
Same to you and your oats.
Chuck Gaidica:
I do, actually I do. It's good to see you. Thanks for the help.
Shanthi Appelö:
Thanks, Chuck.
Chuck Gaidica:
We've covered how nutrition fuels our body, but not all food is created equal. In the next episode, we'll go beyond calorie counts to uncover the truth about nutrient quality and whether it matters for your metabolism. And if you've enjoyed this episode and you want to check out more, you can find us on Apple Podcast, Spotify, and YouTube, where we post new episodes every other week. Be well.
