The Nutrition Brought to Life Podcast (Kirsten Chick)

The Nutrition Brought to Life Podcast Series 1 was all about my book of the same name - in Series 2 I have the wonderful opportunity to chat with other people who bring nutrition to life.

Hayley North is a holistic chef, food educator and movement teacher. She has an extraordinarily special relationship with food and nutrition, that she shares with passion and authenticity on her courses, retreats and other endeavours. Here we talk about what inspires her, and how food can be truly mindblowing.

This is another two-course Friday, so you can listen to part 2 of our chat straight away, or later when you've got more room. Hayley has a beautifully evident passion and integrity that is a pleasure to share with you on these 2 episodes.

Thanks for listening - please subscribe, tell everyone you know, and have a wonderful day,

Kirsten Chick

Hi everyone, Kirsten Chick here, nutritional therapist and author of Nutrition Brought to Life.

Series 2 has so far brought you practical episodes with tips on things like breakfasts, snacking and mindful eating, alongside chats with other people who bring nutrition to life. Today I'm chatting with medical herbalist Jessie Martelhof, who is camping in a sunny field in Devon and has found a spot with wifi to make this possible. Jessie talks us through her approach, and explains some of the benefits of using herbs in tinctures, teas, lotions and cooking. And we discuss using local herbs vs. exotic imports.

Stay tuned for part 2 where Jessie shares some fantastic, seasonal tips and talks about her Wild Medicine Walks.

Also check out her social media:

Instagram: @brightonherbalist

Facebook: @GentleMedicineBrighton

Thanks for listening, subscribing and sharing,

Kirsten Chick
kirstenchick.com

In the last episode – or chapter, as I’m calling them, as each episode focuses on a chapter of my book – we talked about harnessing sunshine and creating energy batteries called ATP in your cells’ mitochondria. This chapter, chapter 4, is called Sugar – the highs and the lowdown, and we’re going to look a little more closely at the sugar that holds that sunshine energy to begin with.

Now, sugar isn’t the bad guy – it’s actually a magical little sunshine carrier. It’s how we eat it that’s important. So I also give you a few tips around that, and there's more on this in the next chapter.

Hi there, Kirsten Chick here, back with another instalment of the Nutrition Brought to Life Podcast, and this week we’re focussing on Chapter 14: Protein power.

Whenever I ask a new group of students why we need protein, the answer is invariably “to build muscles.” Which is correct – but there’s so much more to protein than that. 

Find out more here and in my book, Nutrition Brought to Life - list of stockists and more about me at kirstenchick.com

Hi everyone, Kirsten Chick here, nutritional therapist and author of Nutrition Brought to Life.

This is part 2 of my bite-sized chat with medical herbalist Jessie Martelhof, who joins me from the great outdoors of a Devon campsite. We talk nettle seeds, berries, wild marjoram and a whole lot more, and I'm now more tempted than ever to sign up for Jessie's Wild Medicine Walks.

You can check out Jessie's social media here:

Instagram: @brightonherbalist

Facebook: @GentleMedicineBrighton

Thanks for listening, subscribing and sharing,

Kirsten Chick
kirstenchick.com

Hello everyone, and happy new year to those of you listening as this goes out. Whatever year or season it is for you right now, thank you for tuning in. We’re now up to Chapter 19 of my book, Balancing hormones, so that’s the focus of this episode. We look at what hormones are, some of the jobs they do, the nutrients they need and how to keep them in balance.

My book: Nutrition Brought to Life
More info on me: kirstenchick.com

Hi everyone, Kirsten Chick here, nutritional therapist and author of Nutrition Brought to Life.

In series 2 of this podcast, I am chatting with other people who bring nutrition to life. Today's guest has brought nutrition to his own life in quite an inspiring way. Richard Smart was diagnosed with cancer in 2019, and it hasn't played out quite how he expected. Richard explains what he has learnt, why he has decided to follow a ketogenic diet, how he manages that and the benefits it's brought.

This is a special extended episode at about half an hour - so a bigger bite than usual, but still accessible and to the point. Richard suggested I tell you this is because I couldn't shut him up! The truth is, he's a fascinating man and a joy to listen to, and there was a really great flow that i didn't want to interrupt.

Richard mentioned a number of books including Radical Remission and How to Starve Cancer, as well as the work of Dominic D'Agostino.

Thanks for listening, subscribing and sharing,

Kirsten Chick
kirstenchick.com

Hello, me again. I hope you’re enjoying this podcast series so far. We’re about a third of the way through now, and we’ve looked at self-nourishment, digestion, energy production, insulin resistance and blood sugar balance, comfort eating and snacking, and my Three Mindful Mouthfuls practice. This week’s chapter introduces the fight/flight/freeze concept, some of the ways the freeze response can impact you, and how to start melting that and letting go. 

I’ve found this concept to be fundamental to my work because, like inflammation, getting stuck in this freeze response seems to be a key feature of how illness develops.

Chapter 7: Melting the freeze response and letting go is based on the chapter of the same name in my book Nutrition Brought to Life. Find out more about me and the book at kirstenchick.com

Hi again, Kirsten Chick here. This episode is based on Chapter 2 of my book, Nutrition Brought to Life. Chapter 2 is called “Digestion – a brief look inside” and it’s just that. I talk much more about digestion and how to support it later on, so this chapter is really about familiarising yourself with the nuts and bolts of how it works. 

Hello, I’m back – and thank you for sticking with this. Or perhaps you’re new, in which case, welcome to the Nutrition Brought to Life Podcast, based on my book of the same name.

This episode and chapter is an introduction to your immune system: what it is, and some of the nutrients it needs. Then next time we’re going to look at more ways to strengthen and support it.

Immunity has been a hot topic of late. There has never been so much talk in the mainstream media of antibodies, T cells and immune responses. But do you really understand how your immune system works? Actually, does anyone? It really is a complex and amazing aspect of your inner universe, and scientists will readily admit our knowledge if it is still quite superficial.

So I’m going to attempt to give you a concise overview, but please remember this is all just the tip of a very impressive iceberg.

More info: kirstenchick.com

Hello, hope you’re all well, wherever you are. I know most of you are in the UK, but apparently I have listeners in the US, Norway, Germany, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, Spain, Portugal, Jersey, Italy, Greece, France, Egypt, Bangladesh and Nigeria! So this podcast is doing a bit of a whirlwind world tour each week.

I’m still here in sunny Sussex, and the focus is still on your microbiome. Last week we looked at what your inner ecosystem is and some of the wonderful things it does. This week is based on Chapter 12: Nourishing Your Microbiome – so the chapter in my book that looks at how to feed your microbes and help provide the perfect environment for them.

Feeding your microbes may include eating fibre from lots of different kinds of plant foods, as I talked about last time, including fermented foods, and maybe even adding prebiotic and probiotic supplements. But you also need to tend to the environment in which they live, so we’ll look at that too. In chapter 12 I look at both, and here they are condensed into 7 Top Tips for nourishing your microbiome.

More info: kirstenchick.com

Hello and welcome back – or welcome if you’ve just joined us. This episode relates to Chapter 8 of my book, Nutrition Brought to Life.

I’ve already introduced you to my Three Mindful Mouthfuls practice – if you missed that, it’s in Chapter 6. And I’ve mentioned mindfulness a few times in previous chapters. Chapter 8 is called Mindful eating and your health – so we’re sticking with the theme for a while.

I start Chapter 8 with a quote from Rick Hanson’s book Buddha’s Brain: “Suffering is not abstract or conceptual. It’s embodied: you feel it in your body, and it proceeds through bodily mechanisms.” Buddha’s Brain is a fantastic book about the neuroscience of mindfulness – in fact its subtitle is “the practical neuroscience of happiness, love and wisdom”, it’s a great one for the geeks out there. The point of this quote is that suffering, i.e. stress and trauma, has a very direct impact on how your body behaves, the state of its various tissues and all the biochemistry that happens there. And therefore your health. 

kirstenchick.com

Hi, thanks for joining me again – and if you’re new here, today’s episode is on one of my favourite topics. It ties in with Chapter 6 of my book, which is all about Digestion, absorption and mindful mouthfuls. We’ve already had a Brief Look Inside the digestive system, and this chapter goes into a little more detail about how this system actually breaks down and absorbs the food you eat. I also introduce my Three Mindful Mouthfuls practice, which helps you do this more efficiently.

For more on me, Kirsten Chick, and my book, Nutrition Brought to Life, visit kirstenchick.com

Hi everyone, Kirsten Chick here, nutritional therapist and author of Nutrition Brought to Life. Thanks for bearing with me while I’ve been away, and I hope you enjoyed the encore episodes I posted on Nourishing Ourselves and Mindful Mouthfuls – which are important backgrounds to today’s theme of snacks and choices.

A few weeks ago I recorded an episode all about breakfasts, and today’s is about snacks – breakfasts and snacks are the 2 things people I work with seem to need the most help with. With snacks, some want healthier snack ideas, and some want to reduce their snacking. I’m going to address both today. 

Thanks for listening, subscribing and sharing,

Kirsten Chick

Hi Kirsten Chick here, author of Nutrition Brought to Life, the book that inspired this podcast. In series 2 so far, I’ve been chatting with some very lovely and inspiring people who bring nutrition to life, and they’ve shared some fantastic tips. Do go back and listen after this if you haven’t heard them already.

This week, I’m bringing you some practical tips of my own, and I’m theming it all around breakfast. It’s one of the things I’m most asked about:

What’s the best thing to eat in the morning?

Is it really the most important meal of the day? 

What if you don’t feel hungry? Or feel sick?

What about skipping breakfast as part of a fasting programme?

There are many answers to these questions, and ultimately you need to figure out what works best for you. But hopefully these guidelines will help you with that.

Thanks for listening, please share and subscribe,

Kirsten Chick
kirstenchick.com

The Nutrition Brought to Life Podcast Series 1 was all about my book of the same name - in Series 2 I have the wonderful opportunity to chat with other people who bring nutrition to life.

First up is the fantastic Sally Duffin, health writer, nutritional therapist, and author of Natural Nutrition for Perimenopause: What to Eat to Feel Good and Stay Sane. This is part 2 of our chat, where we talk about Sally's book, the current conversation around menopause, thoughts on hormone replacement therapy (HRT), and how Sally's brain works. And Sally gives some excellent tips for hot flushes.

Thanks for listening - please subscribe, tell everyone you know, and have a wonderful day,

Kirsten Chick

The Nutrition Brought to Life Podcast Series 1 was all about my book of the same name - in Series 2 I have the wonderful opportunity to chat with other people who bring nutrition to life.

This is part 2 of my chat with Mitchie Alexander from Brighton Grub Hub, a brilliant project that brings fresh, organic produce to households who wouldn't usually have access to it. In this episode, Mitchie talks more about the organic plot she runs, how she got into gardening, and what the volunteers bring and get out of the project. Brighton Grub Hub are actively recruiting new volunteers, so if your ears are pricking up, you can also find out how to get involved. Mitchie also shares some wonderful tips for growing your own veg, including the No Dig method.

Brighton Grub Hub is part of Stanmer Organics, who are having an Open Day on Sat 23rd July 2022 from 11am. It's a free event, but you can help crowd fund it here.

Thanks for listening - please subscribe, tell everyone you know, and have a wonderful day,

Kirsten Chick
kirstenchick.com

Most of us aren’t very good at nourishing ourselves. We may be good at looking after everyone else, but it takes a special kind of effort to nourish ourselves. Deep down, a lot of us feel like we just don’t deserve it. These patterns of low self-esteem can derive from specific situations, such as being bullied or abused in some way, but are also reinforced by social structures, conventions and expectations. So we end up feeling guilty when we do something just for ourselves, just for the pleasure of it, or for how much we benefit from it. Or perhaps not even knowing how to do that. 

But once we figure out how to really nourish ourselves, guilt-free, then we are in a much better place to serve and support our families and communities. So actually, taking time out to focus on ourselves, to recharge, recentre and rebalance, can be a selfless act rather than a selfish one. 

This chapter suggest some ways you can start to practise doing just that.

Thank you for listening. Please subscribe and share.

Last time I talked you through the basics of your immune system, and shared some of the nutrients you need to make white blood cells. You may remember the immune system is a complex, multi-layered wonder, and it has a lot to do with inflammation. In this chapter, I discuss inflammation a bit more – what kind of things can trigger it as well as some natural anti-inflammatories. There’s also a little more on foods that can regulate your white blood cells.

More in my book, Nutrition Brought to Life

Also see my website kirstenchick.com

The Nutrition Brought to Life Podcast Series 1 was all about my book of the same name - in Series 2 I have the wonderful opportunity to chat with other people who bring nutrition to life.

This week I have the pleasure of talking with Kate Hall of The Full Freezer, who is radically changing the way we all use our freezers. We discuss the benefits of having a "freezer stash", how it's different from batch cooking, the impact of food waste on the planet and your pocket, freezing eggs (yes, eggs!), and how your freezer can help you eat healthier food.

Kate will be back in Episode 4 with more freezer tips to help you save time, money and the planet.

Thanks for listening - please subscribe, tell everyone you know, and have a wonderful day,

Kirsten Chick

Hi, I’m Kirsten Chick, author of Nutrition Brought to Life, and this podcast is a companion to the book. You can listen as you read Nutrition Brought to Life, or before as a kind of preview, or after you’ve finished the book as a refresher. Either way, I hope this helps you make some small changes that make a big difference in your life.

Each episode will be about 5-7 minutes long, so bite-sized and manageable, and there's one for every chapter of the book. 

Thanks for listening - please subscribe and share.

The Nutrition Brought to Life Podcast Series 1 was all about my book of the same name - in Series 2 I have the wonderful opportunity to chat with other people who bring nutrition to life.

This is part 2 of my chat with Hayley North, holistic chef, food educator and movement teacher extraordinaire. I ask Hayley for some practical kitchen tips, and they may not be quite what you're expecting. Hayley also tells us about the online Elemental Kitchen course she runs with Kate Kensa - there's one starting next week - in which they explore food energetics and "who you are as an eater and as a cook and as a consumer, because food also involves buying stuff." I've known and worked with Hayley for many years and I really can't recommend her highly enough, she is an absolute joy.

Thanks for listening - please subscribe, tell everyone you know, and have a wonderful day,

Kirsten Chick

The Nutrition Brought to Life Podcast Series 1 was all about my book of the same name - in Series 2 I have the wonderful opportunity to chat with other people who bring nutrition to life.

This is part 2 of my chat with Kate Hall of The Full Freezer. Kate answers questions like "What can I freeze?", "Why?" and "Do I have to blanche it first?". Also how to shift habits, and use your freezer as a pause button to help you cook for one, cook for a family with different demands, and get more variety and nutrition into your mealtimes. I enthuse about what a gamechanger this can all be, Kate knowingly enthuses back. 

Thanks for listening - please subscribe, tell everyone you know, and have a wonderful day,

Kirsten Chick

Hi, and welcome to episode 21 of the Nutrition Brought to Life Podcast –  This is a Q&A special, where I answer some of the questions you’ve been sending in. And I’m testing out the new video option, so some of you may be watching as well as listening.

The 2nd edition of my book, Nutrition Brought to Life, should be out next month, that’s February 2022. I’m really pleased it’s sold enough to warrant a reprint, and I’ve managed to sneak in a few edits and updates. Please continue to recommend it to your friends and family, and thank you so much for all your support so far.

Stay healthy and happy.

kirstenchick.com

Hello, we are now halfway through the podcast series, which is exciting! If you’ve just joined us, then welcome – if you’ve been listening from the start then hopefully you’re getting a sense of how this is all building together. This episode is Chapter 10: Specific adrenal support, and it’s all about how you can use food to help calm down your stress hormones and prevent your adrenals from wearing you out.

So who needs this? Well, I certainly do, and I’m willing to bet that you do too. Our days are filled with stresses of various sizes, and sometimes larger threats and traumas too - alongside all the happier, rosier stuff. We can’t escape it, so we need to learn how to deal with it.

A major theme running through this podcast, the book it’s based on and my work in general is stress. Stress has such a profound impact on every aspect of your body and how it functions, as well as your mental and emotional health. So I spend a great deal of time helping people to become more stress resilient, i.e. better able to recover and bounce back. I’m not a psychotherapist, I do this with my own set of tools, which revolve around nutrition. 

More info: kirstenchick.com

I'm still on holiday! So today I bring you an Encore edition from Series 1 - it's based on Chapter 6 of my book, Nutrition Brought to Life, and describes the Mindful Mouthfuls process I share with so many of my students, clients and workshop attendees.

Hope you find it useful, and have a great week.

Thanks for listening, subscribing and sharing,

Kirsten Chick
kirstenchick.com

Hello, everyone, and welcome to the podcast episode that supports the final chapter of my book, Nutrition Brought to Life. It’s Chapter 20: Creating more flow: putting together a personal action plan.

I’ve given you so much information and guidance in the book, and a lot of it in this podcast series too. And I want you to be able to use it to make meaningful, positive change to your health and your life. And for those of you who are practitioners, I’d like you to be able to successfully support the people you are working with. 

So this chapter/episode is about how to go about putting a nutrition programme together that is achievable and beneficial. 

kirstenchick.com

The Nutrition Brought to Life Podcast Series 1 was all about my book of the same name - in Series 2 I have the wonderful opportunity to chat with other people who bring nutrition to life.

This week it's Mitchie Alexander from Brighton Grub Hub, a fantastic project that brings fresh, organic produce to households who wouldn't usually have access to it. Mitchie tells us how she set up a certified organic allotment to supply food banks in Brighton, and how it all works. Also listen to part 2 where Mitchie talks more about the plot itself and how to volunteer there, as well as giving some brilliant growing tips.

Brighton Grub Hub is part of Stanmer Organics, who are having an Open Day on Sat 23rd July 2022 from 11am. It's a free event, but you can help crowd fund it here.

Thanks for listening - please subscribe, tell everyone you know, and have a wonderful day,

Kirsten Chick
kirstenchick.com

The Nutrition Brought to Life Podcast Series 1 was all about my book of the same name - in Series 2 I have the wonderful opportunity to chat with other people who bring nutrition to life.

First up is the fantastic Sally Duffin, health writer, nutritional therapist, and author of Natural Nutrition for Perimenopause: What to Eat to Feel Good and Stay Sane. We chat about how Sally went from selling underwear to writing for some of the top supplement companies, what to do with nettles and wormholes of research.

Sally will be back in Episode 2 to talk more about her book and give some perimenopause and menopause advice.

Thanks for listening - please subscribe, tell everyone you know, and have a wonderful day,

Kirsten Chick

I'm on holiday today and next week, so I thought you might appreciate revisiting a couple of episodes from Series 1. Today's relates to chapter 1 of my book, https://www.amazon.co.uk/Nutrition-Brought-Life-Kirsten-Chick/dp/1999306120, and is called:
Why aren't we nourishing ourselves?

Thanks for listening, subscribing and sharing, and have a lovely week,

Kirsten Chick
kirstenchick.com

This episode relates to Chapter 5 of my book, Nutrition Brought to Life.

I find I don’t crave so much sugar when life really is sweet. When life is miserable or stressful, that’s when I want more sweetness in my food. So in this chapter/episode, I’m going to look at comfort eating, why we can get so hooked on sugar, and what we can do about that.

There are lots of tips and ideas you can try out - and if you have any of your own you'd like to share, please do so at the Nutrition Brought to Life Podcast Community group on Facebook.

More info on me at kirstenchick.com

The Nutrition Brought to Life Podcast Series 1 was all about my book of the same name - in Series 2 I have the wonderful opportunity to chat with other people who bring nutrition to life.

In this (slightly squeaky!) episode, food innovator and fermentation whizz Alex Catchpole of Organergy tells me about his workshops, what motivates him, and why he drags himself out of bed to catch the dawn. We cover all the important S words, from the Scouts to Sandor Katz to Sunrise, and probably mention Sauerkraut along the way. With some authentic technical noise just like we're live on the radio.

Stay tuned for Episode 6, where I ask for some specific fermentation tips.

Thanks for listening - please subscribe, tell everyone you know, and have a wonderful day,

Kirsten Chick

Welcome back. This week it’s all about the lipids, as we focus on Chapter 15: Oils – structure and light from my book Nutrition Brought to Life.

Fats and oils are made up of varying mixtures of fatty acids. These fatty acids can be long, short, wiggly or straight, and determine the properties of the oil you are using. So butter, for example, contains a range of fatty acids from short to long, very straight to very wiggly. But because most of them are straight, butter tends to be more solid at room temperature, and that’s why we call it a fat rather than an oil.

This episode talks about the wiggly ones, the straight ones, and what that means for the fats and oils in your diet. Plus their many varied and essential uses in your body.

More info: kirstenchick.com

Hello, I’m Kirsten Chick, and I'm back with some more Nutrition Brought to Life for you - bite-sized highlights from my book of the same name. This week I’m focussing on Chapter 13: Tissue protection and repair. Your body is made up of several different types of tissue, like different fabrics might be used to make a sofa or a doll, for example. There is endothelial tissue lining your gut for example, so if you want to address gut health, it’s useful to know what helps to keep the tissue there in good shape. Different types of tissue make up your joints, bones, muscles, brain, heart, liver and even your blood.

More info: kirstenchick.com

Hello everyone, welcome to new listeners, and to those of you who have been tuning in regularly, thanks for your support and some of the wonderful feedback I’ve been getting. It’s always lovely to hear that people are finding this podcast useful – please feel free to rate it via your podcast platform too, and share it with your friends, family and community.

This episode is on one of my favourite topics, and is based on Chapter 11 of my book: Your microbiome – your inner ecosystem. I often compare the human body to planet Earth, with is rich and diverse ecosystems – remember we are very much part of that planet, so it’s no coincidence that there are so many similarities. At the time of recording, COP26 is going on in Scotland, so working out how to rebalance our environment is very much a hot topic.

I’m going to talk more about how to nourish your inner ecosystem next time – today I want to explain more about what it is and what it does.

More info: kirstenchick.com

Hello again and welcome to episode 18, which is based on Chapter 18: Liver whispering – from my book, Nutrition Brought to Life.

Your liver deserves all the love you can give it, it’s such a workhorse. And like a horse, it seems to respond better to whispering than to being kicked and whipped into action. This goes against the grain of many of the detox regimes you may have come across, but I truly believe that, at least most of the time, we need to be gentle with our livers.

In chapter 18, I reflect on how what we’ve learnt about the liver and its functions match so beautifully what the ancient Chinese Five Elements describe. This oriental approach describes the liver as the planner, and indeed it does regulate a lot of your body’s activity, including blood sugar, balancing hormones, processing and distribution of nutrients, processing of fat soluble toxins and a whole lot more. Unsurprisingly, it gets easily overloaded, especially in this modern, heavily polluted world. 

More info: kirstenchick.com

Hi, Kirsten Chick here, nutritional therapist and author of Nutrition Brought to Life. In this final episode of series 2, I'm chatting with market gardener, chef and yoga teacher Jo Tytherleigh, who brings nutrition to life in so many ways.

We talk about very local produce, modern market gardening, living with a gentle footprint and the healing power of nature. Jo describes the benefits of eating freshly picked food, what to grow on a windowsill, and the wonderful Field to Fork workshops she runs, and the tiny house you can stay at on the wondrous Harewood Farm.

Along the way, Jo mentions wild garlic, broad beans, runner beans, chickpeas, hay meadows, Tamar Grow Local, the Open Food Network, the Tamara Landscape Partnership and Trevi House women's shelter.

Thank you for listening and sharing - and if you subrscribe, you'll be notified when Series 3 starts up again.

Kirsten Chick
kirstenchick.com

Apologies if you tried to listen to this before and it didn't work - I had a podcast fail! But I've re-edited it and reuploaded it, so hopefully you're good to go now.

The Nutrition Brought to Life Podcast Series 1 was all about my book of the same name - in Series 2 I have the wonderful opportunity to chat with other people who bring nutrition to life.

This is part 2 of my (squeaky) chat with Alex Catchpole of Organergy. Alex explains super clearly what probiotic and prebiotic foods are, the simplest and best way to make fermented vegetables, and his top tips for life - in which he manages to squeeze in some more very special S words. 

Thanks for listening - please subscribe, tell everyone you know, and have a wonderful day,

Kirsten Chick

Hi everyone, thanks for joining me. If you’ve already read my book, Nutrition Brought to Life – thank you! – and this podcast series will help remind you of the main points and keep you engaged with what you have been discovering. If you haven’t read it, then these podcasts will still be useful, and maybe more accessible for you. And perhaps tempt you into getting a copy of the beautifully produced hardback to grace your coffee table or a friend’s. If you’re mid-read or just started, each of these podcasts matches a chapter in the book, so you can enjoy them side by side. 

I want to keep these sessions bite-sized, so I’ll usually be highlighting some of the more important and useful aspects from each chapter, sometimes adding in some new things to reflect on and try. In this introductory episode, however, I’m just going to read out the introductory chapter, as it’s quite short and says everything I want to say here.

Before I do that, for those of you who don’t know me, I’m Kirsten Chick, and I’ve been a nutritional therapist since 2003. I’ve worked with 1000s of people during that time in one-to-one consultations, as well as running workshops, courses and retreats, and teaching at a number of colleges. I never stop researching, and I love to write. I’m told I have a clear, engaging style and I’ve been bowled over by the wonderful book reviews I’ve received. You can find out more about me at kirstenchick.com.

If you’re on facebook, I’ve also set up a Nutrition Brought to Life Podcast Community Group, so please join that so you can interact with me and with each other, and add to your whole experience.

Thank you for listening - and please subscribe and share.

Hello again, Kirsten Chick here, this time talking about chapter 3 of my book, Nutrition Brought to Life. Chapter 3 is about Vitality – harnessing nature’s energy, i.e. how we get energy from our food.

We can get energy from the proteins, the carbohydrates (which break down to sugars) and also the fats in our diet. These are called your macronutrients, and they have many functions in the body, including building blocks for making structures such as cells, hormones, antibodies, enzymes and a whole lot more. The focus in this chapter is on energy, but it’s important to remember food is not just fuel. 

This also means that food is not just calories – the measurement for fuel you see on most food labels. We’re encouraged to count calories to measure our food, but this can be so misleading. You can, for example, eat your recommended daily calories in nutrient-poor, ultra-processed products and experience poor physical and mental health and also poor weight control as a result.  You are so much more than a slot machine for calories, and a nourishing approach to diet needs to recognise this.

Hi everyone, Kirsten Chick here, I’m back with another instalment of the podcast accompaniment to my book, Nutrition Brought to Life. Namely Chapter 9: The gut-brain-adrenal triangle.

We’ve been talking a fair bit about mindfulness and digestion, and the connection between stress and digestion. Chapter 9 extends this concept to look at some more of the links the make your gut, your brain and your adrenals influence each other so much. 

More info: kirstenchick.com