Hotflashes - March 2025

Building a Nutrition Plan That Works for You

There can be a lot of fad diets and conflicting information about different food groups on the internet, especially with influencers on TikTok and Instagram. It can be hard to tell what is true and what isn’t, so this article will give you a helpful guide on how to build a nutrition plan that will work for you.

• Focus on the basics. While there can be a lot of information (and often misinformation) out there about different food groups and strict elimination diets, try to put your blinders on and focus on the basics of healthy eating. This includes lots of fruits and vegetables, whole and intact grains (barley, quinoa, oats, and brown rice for example), healthy protein which can come from things like fish, poultry, eggs, and other lean meats as well as plant-based options like beans, nuts, and seeds. Additionally, oils like olive and avocado oils are healthy options for cooking, salad dressings, and more.
• Skip the sugary drinks. No matter how much you love your sweet tea or coke, they just aren’t a great option nutritionally. In designing a nutrition plan that works for you to lose or maintain weight and improve your overall health, they just don’t fit in. Stick to water (which you can flavor yourself) as much as possible.
• Assess how many calories you need. Whether you’re trying to lose weight or maintain it, it’s important to know how many calories are needed for your age, body size, and gender. Talking to a doctor or dietitian can be helpful, but there are also lots of online calculators for this as well.
• Limit processed foods. The majority of processed foods on the market are chock full of sugar, sodium, and unhealthy fats, so it’s best to avoid them as much as possible.
• Stick to what you like and will eat. While we’re not talking so much about processed foods or other unhealthy options, it is important to consider what healthy foods you do like. There’s no sense in planning to make broccoli with a meal if you hate broccoli, so try to find the healthy foods you like, appreciate, and can cook easily when designing a nutrition plan.
• Plan ahead. Meal planning, keeping a stocked pantry, and having some backup healthy options is just as important to better nutrition as knowing what to eat. Without a plan (and backup plan) and access to healthy ingredients, you’ll likely fall right back into bad habits.

https://www.health.harvard.edu/healthbeat/building-a-plan-for-healthy-eating

Take Care of Your Kidneys

While we often put a lot of focus on heart health, our kidneys are also a vital organ that are very important for us to take care of. In this article, we’ll go over the top things you can do to take care of your kidneys, as well as warning signs of kidney problems to look out for.

• Exercise regularly. While it can be difficult for many of us to do, exercise is important for our overall health, including our kidneys.
• Follow a balanced diet. Just like exercise, eating healthy makes a positive impact on pretty much every part of our body. The combination of both exercise and healthy eating also help you to control your weight, which is another key aspect of taking care of your kidneys (as well as other parts of your body).
• Quit smoking. Again, it’s no secret that smoking is bad for you, and while we often associate it with increased cancer risks, lung disease, and/or heart disease, it can also damage your kidneys as well.
• Limit or avoid alcohol. Because your kidneys are your body’s filter, excess drinking can really do a lot of damage to them. More and more is being learned about how negative alcohol can be for your body, so avoiding it entirely is best. However, if you’re not able to do this, limiting your consumption and not binge drinking can make a difference as well.
• Stay hydrated. Your kidneys’ job is to remove waste from your body through your urine, and they can’t do this if you don’t drink water. Additionally, water helps your blood vessels stay open, allowing needed nutrients to get to your kidneys.
• Get an annual physical. An annual physical can be a very important step to taking care of your kidneys and one that is often overlooked. Getting checked up every year can help find early signs of kidney disease you might not be able to detect on your own, as well as conditions like diabetes, high blood pressure, autoimmune issues, and more that can affect your kidneys. And while these things can be scary and overwhelming to learn, early detection of any issue is key to minimizing it’s damage.
• Know your family medical history. If you have an increased risk of kidney disease, diabetes, or high blood pressure due to family history, it’s important to be aware of this. It’s a good idea to discuss this with your doctor and work with them to find ways to minimize your risk.

Warning Signs of Kidney Disease

Many people with early kidney disease may have no symptoms, which why annual physicals are so important. However, as kidney disease advances, there are some key symptoms to look out for, including:

• Fatigue or weakness
• Difficult, painful urination
• Foamy urine
• Pink, dark urine (blood in urine)
• Increased thirst
• Increased need to urinate (especially at night)
• Puffy eyes
• Swollen face, hands, abdomen, ankles, and/or feet
• Nausea
• Trouble concentrating

https://www.kidney.org/kidney-topics/6-step-guide-to-protecting-kidney-health

Chickpea Pasta with Mushrooms and Kale

Ingredients: 

• 8 ounces chickpea rotini or penne
• ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 large cloves garlic, sliced
• Pinch of crushed red pepper
• 8 cups chopped kale
• 8 ounces cremini mushrooms, quartered
• ½ teaspoon dried thyme
• ½ teaspoon salt
• Grated Parmesan cheese for serving (optional)

Directions: 

• Cook pasta according to package directions. Reserve 1 cup of the cooking water, then drain.
• Meanwhile, heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add garlic and crushed red pepper; cook, stirring once, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add kale, mushrooms, thyme and salt; cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are soft, about 5 minutes.
• Stir in the pasta and enough of the reserved water to coat; cook, stirring, until combined and hot, about 1 minute more. Serve topped with Parmesan, if desired.

https://www.eatingwell.com/recipe/7939117/chickpea-pasta-with-mushrooms-kale/