Nourish With Intent: Nutrition By Addition

Good morning. Happy Saturday. Hopefully everyone can see me and hear me, and I've moved on from all of the technical difficulties that I have been having. I hope everyone's doing well today. It's a beautiful day here in Colorado. I'm actually on my back patio, and it's like 62 degrees, whereas we've been getting still nineties. So, anyway, if you saw the title of today's live, I want to talk about nutrition by addition, and then more specifically, adding in beans. Good morning, Jules. How are you today?

I saw you in JC's live earlier. Good morning, Luke. For my fun question of the day, because I'm going to keep pretending that it's coming. I love fall. I love soup. Love soup season. What's your favorite soup? Tell me in the chat. Okay, so I, like I said, I want to talk about, and I've touched on it before, but the benefits of looking at nutrition through the lens of addition rather than restriction, and that what that really means is how do I add maybe specific nutrients or specific foods that are really nutrient dense to my foods rather than putting hard lines on, well, I can't eat this.

I can't eat that. And the reason that I recommend doing this is because it helps to create a more balanced and sustainable approach to nutrition. It helps to allow for flexibility and enjoyment of nutrition, rather than leading down the route more of maybe fear or guilt, which is something that, you know, I think I work in eating disorders. I see it a lot there, but I think it's a very universal experience at some point, whether it's from the way we've talked about food or culture has talked about food, media has talked about food.

Almost everyone I meet has associated guilt with food. And so rather than pointing out all of the negatives I really like to focus on, let's talk about the positives so that we have this positive mindset towards food and positive associations with wanting to try new things and being very intentional to incorporate new foods. And it's also really helpful when we talk about food with those, honestly, like under the age of 18, I was gonna say really little kids, but genuinely, any children, if you have children or grandchildren, really talking about benefits and positives and adding rather than, this is bad, this is toxic, take it out, avoid it.

It's just two very different mindsets. And I'm all about some positivity. So it also helps with the kind of idea of abundance versus scarcity, if that's something that you've ever struggled with. So that's kind of my little spiel. On nutrition by addition, focusing on how do we create a mindset around food that is healthy and neutral. I would say when I talk to patients and clients of mine, having a healthy relationship with food means that food is neutral. It doesn't have power over you one way or another.

Doesn't mean you can't enjoy food, but it just means it doesn't control you, good or bad. Right. Sometimes we kind of get this, that guilt on the one end, but also maybe this, like, elite feeling on the other end. And I've been there, too, so that's not necessarily a dig at anyone. So when we think about nutrition by addition, there are kind of some big hitters that I like to encourage people that I work with or share on the Internet that really pack a big punch when it comes to nutrition. Hello from Arizona.

Hello from Colorado. Glad you're here. So the thing that I wanted to talk about today, and I've touched on a little bit again in some other lives, is beans and why we should all incorporate beans into our. Into our day. Jules, I grew up with parents that made you sit at the table until you ate your entire plate. Yes. And it took many years to change that mindset. That is something that I work with a lot. And I think there's. It's still kind of. I don't hear it as much these days with maybe some of the younger kids that I've seen, but that was such a mindset.

I feel like even early, two thousands, the clean plate club, I can't remember if there was some sort of, like, marketing around that for some reason. Something tells me there was. But part of and why I preach intuitive eating so much, part of it is unlearning those external pressures. Because if you're full, especially as a kid, like, your appetite fluctuates so much with times of growth. And kids are really great at internally regulating that when allowed. But, you know, say you're stuffed halfway through your meal, you're going against intuition finishing that plate.

Black bean brownies from scratch. I was actually going to talk about those. So I love that. We'll talk more about that. Thanks for sharing that, Jules. I think that's an important piece to kind of point out that struggles with food and unlearning mindsets that have maybe been damaging to us. There's such a wide spectrum of what that looks like, and even if someone has that same experience as a concept, it's going to look different for everybody. And so I appreciate that. So, beans. I love Beansen.

I personally try to incorporate them into at least once a day. I'm eating a serving of beans, and a serving is typically a half cup. Some of the pros, right. We're talking about all of the benefits of adding in beans nutrition. By addition, they are cheap and accessible, and that is probably my number one reason for recommending them to almost everyone, everyone, especially considering how nutrient dense they are. So they do have protein. It is not as much protein as, say, chicken breasts or beef, but you've got a protein.

It's a really great source of folate, which if you are someone who has ever been pregnant, if you are ever someone knows someone who wants to be pregnant, you might hear people talking about folate. It's really important for creation of red blood cells as well as the development of the neural tube, which really becomes your whole nervous system. Beans are also a great source of copper, which we need for red blood cell production, some nerve functioning, iron, potassium, magnesium. Potassium is used in almost every single cell in our body.

Magnesium is also used for, I think it's over 300 processes in the body. So lots of kind of heavy hitters when it comes to benefits of beans. Another big one that I have talked extensively about is fiber. They have about five to 9 grams of fiber per serving. Again, that's per half cup. Fiber is incredibly important for blood sugar balance, and a healthy gut fiber is what, when you digest, you create something called short chain fatty acids, and I, that feeds your gut bacteria. Fiber is also important for maintaining healthy lipid levels.

So your cholesterol, I think one study showed that by incorporating beans every day, it lowered cholesterol by 19%. That same study showed reductions in stroke risk, I think, of 11%, and cardiovascular disease of 22%. Really good for overall vascular health. It can also help lower blood pressure. So great for that. They're also rich in polyphenols, which are antioxidants, which I think I've also talked about, can help reduce the risk of chronic disease, reduce inflammation in the body. Let's see, what else did I find?

I looked up some fun studies. Oh, people who had type two diabetes. There was a study that looked specifically at adding in one cup, so technically two servings of legumes and beans a day. And it showed lower blood sugars, like lower fasting blood sugars, and lower blood pressures when compared to, like, whole grain fiber, which I thought was really interesting because they're both fiber, but a little bit different in terms of, like, soluble versus insoluble. Also shown to help with long term glycemic control in people both with and without diabetes, so that blood sugar stabilization over long periods of time.

And then another really interesting one that I hadn't read before. There was a study called the food habits in later life, and that showed that a higher legume intake was the most protective dietary predictor of survival amongst the elderly, regardless of ethnicity. So apparently good for longevity and survival. So I thought that was really fun. A lot of benefits. They're also just, because they have fiber, because they have protein, they're more satiating than some other foods. They're also incredibly versatile.

So as Jules said, black bean brownies from scratch. Jules eye. I'm gonna post in the chat what your favorite bean recipe is. I want you to share your bean recipe. If it's a link or I don't know if you can like, individually message people on here, but I have personally tried a couple of black bean brownie recipes, and I haven't found one that I love. Like, they're really good when they're warm and they come out of the oven, but they're not as great like the next day. So I want your black bean brownie recipe in terms of some considerations about beans.

And I say considerations because again, I want to think more about. They're not universal concerns. Very, very few foods, if any, are a cause of universal catastrophic concerns. And that is why nutrition has to be so individualized. But things to be aware of, if you're eating beans, they are high in fodmaps, so they're fermentable carbohydrates, which means they can cause gas and discomfort in people who have ib's. There is some research that shows as you continue to incorporate beans regularly, there is less gas production in response to that.

So that's a little fun fact. And if you do really like beans and you still want to incorporate them, there are low FODMAp servings. So typically it's two tablespoons to a fourth of a cup, depending on the bean. And the lower Fodmap beans are garbanzos adzuki. I think red kidney beans is the third one. There's a couple more, but those are the ones specifically when you think about cans, one of the qualms that some people have with beans, if you've ever heard, they have anti nutrients, and those are essentially plant protection mechanisms that helps the plant survive.

And phytic acid and lectins are two of the ones that are found in beans. And they can interfere with the absorption of some minerals like iron, potassium, magnesium. However, cooking, soaking, fermenting, and sprouting significantly reduces those levels, and most people are doing that. So if you're buying canned beans, they're cooked very or even like natto, which is fermented bean paste, or, like, it's the whole bean, but it's, like, very sticky. It's fermented. That's also a very nutrient dense food.

It's not something you really have to worry about, especially if you're eating a nutrient rich diet. So you're getting plenty of fruits and vegetables throughout the rest of your day, where you're going to get those nutrients in abundance. It's not a huge issue. Again, maybe some people feel better eating beans, and that's totally fine, totally valid. Again, individualized nutrition. They are high in purines, which historically we've linked to gout. There's not as much of a connection, but if you have gout, might be worth paying attention to.

They're also high in tiramine, which is an amino acid that can trigger migraines in some people. My mom actually found I've had migraines for a while, and I don't know if she's still on here, but she sent me a picture of the recommendation for a diet to help with my migraines. This was before I was a dietitian, and it was a low tier, mean diet, and I have no recollection of that. I don't know if I ever actually did it, but I eat beans all the time now, and they do not trigger my migraines. So it's not for everyone, just some people.

All in all, personally and professionally, I kind of consider beans a superfood, and I think there's a lot of benefits to incorporating them, even in small amounts. Some ideas. If you're like, I don't want to just eat a can of beans, black bean brownies or chickpea blondies or, like, white bean blondies. I've seen people make white beans are so, so versatile. You can basically blend them into dips or spreads similar to hummus. You can use them in a base of, like, a cheese sauce. If you have or know someone who have kiddos who are, like, really picky and only want to eat Mac and cheese and chicken nuggets, you can take a cheese sauce, blend a can of beans into it.

Also. We'll blend in, like, carrots or maybe cauliflower, and sneak some veggies in there easily. You can add a can of white beans to chicken noodle soup. Jules, I know you said your favorite was homemade chicken tortilla soup. I would just, like, toss some black beans in there. I think that sounds great to me. I've made a white bean and quinoa meatloaf. Before meatloaf, there was no meat. But they're so, so versatile, and you can really find a ton of ways to use them. So that's my little spiel on the benefits of beans and hopefully a helpful example of how to talk about nutrition in a positive way and really reframe.

How do I add nutrition to my diet? Oh, perfect. There's black beans in it. That makes sense. I didn't even answer my question. My favorite soup. Here's the thing. Is chili a soup? Because I've been told no. I do really love chili, especially when we're camping and you're cold at night. And then I think my other one is a butternut squash soup. Panera has an acorn squash, or, like, they might just call it a squash soup, but it's one of my favorites, and I make it. There's, like a copycat recipe I found that I'll make at home.

So cool. Any other thoughts or questions? Like I said, I love beans. Love talking about beans. I love promoting beans. I'm not paid by big bean. Wish I was. I'm gonna post in the community tab for people to share their favorite bean recipe. I want the black bean brownie recipe. And then maybe everyone else on here can kind of look at that for inspiration. And I'll post some of my favorites as well. But thank you all for joining me this morning and have a wonderful rest of your day. I think at 230 mountain time is the next stream.

I believe it's Dan, pretty sure. And then there's another one after that. And I think that's it for your day. But a couple more if you want to pop on. Otherwise, have a wonderful stay cool, stay safe weekend, and I'll see you back next week. Bye.