How To #EmbraceEquity In Our Wellness Solutions to Burnout

As the 2023 edition of International Women's Day week comes to a close, I'd like to share a nutritionist's perspective on how to equitably address the burnout crisis we are in.  Because whilst both men and women burn out, the reasons why & the journey out of burnout does need to be tailored.

Dr. Lisa Mosconi's book, The XX Brain gives us some insight into how to #EmbraceEquity in the struggle against burnout.

WOMEN AND MEN RESPOND TO STRESS DIFFERENTLY
As it turns out, while both men & women share exhibit classic fight or flight responses to stress -- there is a uniquely female response to stress, which is called TEND & BEFRIEND.

According to Dr. Mosconi, this response likely evolved ages ago in hunter-gatherer communities. Men went hunting and fought against tigers. Women stayed behind to take care of the family.

Because fighting or fleeing is near-on impossible when you're breastfeeding, pregnant or caring for children, women evolved to respond to stress & danger differently.  In such moments, they became even more protective of their children -- TENDING to them - and BEFRIENDING the other people in the community to increase their chances for survival.

This TEND & BEFRIEND stress response can be scientifically measured & demonstrated:

• When women are under stress, our cortisol & adrenal hormones rise (like men).  But women also get an additional shot of oxytocin from the brain, which promotes nurturing, loving & tending emotions.  

• Moreover, women have strong activity in the limbic system - primarily involved in emotions (hello inner critic!). Whereas, men activate their frontal cortex - the area in charge of reason.

What does all this mean from a health perspective?

WOMEN'S HEALTH IS MORE VULNERABLE TO LONG-TERM STRESS 
Dr. Mosconi contends that the adverse effects of prolonged stress are harsher on women than on men. Not only are women contending with an increase in their stress hormones: cortisol and adrenalin.  Women are also paying the steep physiological, emotional price that accumulates with caregiving and tending.

Dr. Mosconi states that the "caregiver burden can severely tax our health while compromising our immune response to stress".  She goes on to say that this tending or caregiving stress exacerbates existing chronic health symptoms, and means that women are operating on a daily basis at a health deficit.

If you are caregiving at work, at home and/or with your folks -- on top of your daily obligations -- you are taxing your nervous system and this could potentially be manifesting as health symptoms like chronic fatigue, chronic digestive issues, weight gain around the belly, brain fog & anxiety - just to name a few.  

But it could also be showing up on your bloodwork as high cholesterol, underactive thyroid, high blood sugar, abnormal liver enzymes or high uric acid. High blood pressure is also a big one!

Caregiving is part of our primal makeup.  It's a big part of what keeps us in touch with our humanity.  And it's why women leaders, more often than not, play by the "no one gets left behind" value book, as opposed to the legacy "survival of the fittest" so many corporate cultures have inherited.

BUT - caregiving doesn't come for free. And when overtaxed, it can cost us our health.  

Embracing equity means understanding what caregiving is costing us.  It means understanding when to draw the line & how to share the burden. It also means we can use diet & lifestyle as a powerful modulator to decrease the load off the mind & body & rebuild our health & wellness.

Book in your 15min chat with me today & let's answer those questions together.

In the meantime, come to my Book Club on March 29th and join a community of women, as we tend & befriend to each other whilst discussing Dr Mosconi's amazing book The XX Brain.


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Cristina Tahoces is a nutritional therapist and owner of Thrive Nutrition Practice, a global online wellness business that helps leaders be more physically & mentally resilient to stress. She shared her nutritional approach on the TEDx stage in 2017 as part of the TED Women’s Global Conference. She is a sought-after expert speaker & panelist on burnout, women’s post-natal wellness & metabolic health.

An Indulgent Smoothie to Help You Sleep

There is nothing more indulgent than a good night’s sleep. The kind that makes you feel like a million bucks when you wake up.

But how many of us are nourishing our body to help our body produce the melatonin it needs to help us sleep?

Tart cherries, almonds, walnuts  & flax seeds are rich food sources of melatonin.

Start your sleep strategy first thing in the morning with this tasty smoothie:

SLEEP TIGHT SMOOTHIE

 ½ cup tart cherries (frozen)

½ cup spinach (frozen)

½ banana

1-2 cups almond milk unsweetened

Splash of vanilla

1 tbsp flaxmeal

1 tbsp walnuts

1 tspn raw cacao

2 tbsp hemp seeds

Place all ingredients in a high speed blender & blend until smooth.  Enjoy!

My Calcium-rich Lunchtime Obsession

It's hard for me to eat sardines. I ate loads when I was pregnant and now....I have a bit of a block. But, I do very much enjoy this recipe. I think it's the tang from the pickle & all the fresh herbs. Plus it is super rich in calcium - and as a perimenopausal woman, I want to be taking as much of calcium in from dietary - not supplementation sources.

Studies show that when we take in calcium through our diet (via foods like yoghurt, sardines & broccoli) - this calcium is absorbed at a slow & steady pace by the body.

BUT -- when we take a high dose calcium supplement - we get a big spike of calcium in the blood. And this calcium gets deposited into our soft tissue, like our arteries & organs, rather than our bones & teeth.

That's partly why there are many studies that show that calcium supplementation increases the risk of heart attacks & kidney stones.

I highly encourage you listen to Chris Kresser's short review of calcium supplementation for the full low-down & references to these studies.

And if you have a parent or if you yourself are on calcium supplementation - give yourself the benefit of a critical review of your supplementation practices.

One of the big benefits of being a Metabolic Balance coach is I've been able to study the relationship between blood work & nutrition.

The Metabolic Balance nutritional program is based on the client's blood panel and that panel always includes markers for Total Calcium, a full cholesterol panel & an inflammation marker called C-Reactive Protein. If I see that for example, Total Calcium, LDL cholesterol and C-Reactive Protein are all HIGH -- that combo signals risk of cardiovascular inflammation, which we can then address using both nutritional and supplementation means.

Moreover, helping you understand the relationship between these markers can help YOU have a better conversation with your doctor.

Information is power - book in your free 15min discovery call today.

Here’s the RECIPE for HERBY CREAMY SARDINES!

Ingredients

1 tin sustainably sourced sardines

1⁄2 tspn grainy or dijon mustard

1 large pickle

1 tspn mayonnaise

1 tbsp roughly chopped chives or 1 spring onion

1 handful roughly chopped parsley or coriander or both!

Method

Put all ingredients in a blender & whizz until smooth.

You can use this for sandwiches or on top of a big green salad.

I also like to use this as a topping for cucumber boats. I cut a cucumber lengthwise, scoop out the flesh & spoon this mix on top.

Dill is also a nice herb to use and frankly, the more the merrier.

ENJOY!!!

Subscribe to my newsletter for weekly recipes, programming news, discounts & the best evidenced-based nutritional therapy tips to thrive - not just survive.

Cristina Tahoces is a nutritional therapist and owner of Thrive Nutrition Practice, a global online wellness business that helps leaders be more physically & mentally resilient to stress. She shared her nutritional approach on the TEDx stage in 2017 as part of the TED Women’s Global Conference. She is a sought-after expert speaker & panelist on burnout, women’s post-natal wellness & metabolic health.

This Omega-3 Rich Salad is my Summer Obsession

My daughter graduated from middle school last month. For the first time, we went shopping for a fancy dress & dressy sandals of her choosing. And there were a few evenings of bonding over lipgloss colours and different updos. She looked so beautiful & radiantly happy, walking up to the stage to collect her diploma.

And if that wasn’t enough to fill my summer with joy — in a few weeks, we’ll be going on holiday to Spain to spend time with family & friends for the first time since COVID locked us all down in 2020. I am looking forward to lazy, long lunches full of good food & lots of laughs.

My heart is full of gratitude for these milestones and cherished moments. I never want to forget them - not even when I’m 102! That’s why I prioritise foods rich in Omega-3 fatty acids to help nourish my brain & memory health. And this summer, I am OBSESSED with this salad.

CHERISH THOSE MEMORIES SALAD

Ingredients (for 2-3):

• 185g Yellowfin tuna loins

• 4-6 Cantabrian anchovies

• 4 cups romaine lettuce, chopped

• 1 small head of radicchio, losely torn

• 1 small persian cucumber, chopped

• 1/2 tin of white canellini beans (cooked & thoroughly drained)

• 2 tbsp parsley, finely chopped

• 2 tbsp red onion, finely chopped

• Maldon salt, pepper

• 4 tbsp olive oil & juice of 1/2 lemon

Method:

In a big bowl, add the lettuce, cucumber, parsley, beans & red onion. Season with salt & pepper & half the dressing. Toss to combine. Then add the tuna & the rest of the dressing. And top with the anchovies.

Therapeutic Notes:

The buttery, smooth canellini beans are a perfect, satiating pairing for the seafood and add a lot of fibre to keep your gut microbiome & heart healthy.

The Cantabrian anchovies have a deep, complex umami flavour that have nothing to do with the sad-looking, sandy pizza anchovy. And the Yellowfin tuna loin is the definition of a special treat. Spoiler alert: you will find it difficult to go back to tinned tuna ever again.

This salad will not only satisfy the foodie in you, but it will also nourish you with the Omega 3 healthy fats so crucial for your brain & memory health. A diet rich in Omega 3 fatty acids also supports your mental health. There have been a number of clinical trials that have shown positive results in using high dose Omega3’s to reduce anxiety.

Plus, Spanish Pig is offering all Thrive Newsletters subscribers 15% off all their delicious products (examples are linked above). Want in? Subscribe today and don’t miss out on this special treat!

So this summer - forget your worries and go make memories that will last a lifetime. After multiple lockdowns and extended separation from so many of our family & friends - we deserve it!

Sit down for long, lazy lunches and lavish your family & friends with the gift of cherished memories with this brain healthy salad. I hope it becomes your summer obsession too!

Need help boosting your cognitive function & creating a heart-healthy diet?

Reach out for a free 15 min discovery call with Cristina.

Subscribe to my newsletter for weekly recipes, programming news, discounts & the best evidenced-based nutritional therapy tips to thrive - not just survive.

Cristina Tahoces is a nutritional therapist and owner of Thrive Nutrition Practice, a global online wellness business that helps leaders be more physically & mentally resilient to stress. She shared her nutritional approach on the TEDx stage in 2017 as part of the TED Women’s Global Conference. She is a sought-after expert speaker & panelist on burnout, women’s post-natal wellness & metabolic health.

The Ultimate Salad to Show Your Liver LOVE

One of the big truths about health & wellness is that our issues go into our tissues & our psychology becomes our biology.  I see it all the time.  Stress getting stuck in the body and manifesting in physical symptoms of illness.  In order to heal, the body needs the right fuel to feel safe & strong enough to enable this process of letting go of our stressors.

This healing fuel must come from our food choices.  That is why I believe so much in the power of love-led nourishment.  Because when we choose to eat foods that show our body our love & kindness, we fuel our body’s natural ability & desire to heal & thrive.

Here’s a recipe to deliver love & compassion to your liver - the most underworked and underpaid organ in the body. Poor, darling liver! It fights for your quality of life every day, but we frustrate the heck out of it with stress that we drown out with wine & comfort foods.

This salad delivers all the nutrients your liver needs to rock through its 500 daily functions. And you know what that means? You may just be able to say I’m fine and REALLY mean it!

DeLIVERme Love Salad

Ingredients

1/2 medium raw beet (peeled & chopped into matchsticks)
1 radish (thinly sliced)
½ cup broccoli sprouts
1 medium sized carrot (peeled & shredded)
¼ cup chopped coriander
1 tbsp toasted sesame seeds
2 tbsp toasted pumpkin seeds
2 cups of mixed greens (e.g. arugula, radicchio, romaine lettuce, baby spinach)

Protein of choice: e.g. 2 boiled eggs OR 4-5oz of grilled chicken or leftover roast chicken or grilled salmon or cooked shrimp or grilled beef or ¾ cup of cooked chickpeas or lentils

Dressing: 2 tbsp olive oil, juice of ½ lemon, 1 tsp Dijon mustard, salt & pepper

Other optional add ons: ¼ avocado, cherry tomatoes, cucumber, spring onions, fresh orange segments, cashews, peppers

Method
1.Wash, peel & prep all the veggies. Do not try to shred the beet because it will make an awful mess.

2.Toast the sesame & pumpkin seeds separately. To toast, I simply put them on a dry frying pan over low-to-medium heat and keep stirring until they’re fragrant.

3.Make the dressing by stirring together all the ingredients.

4.Assemble all the ingredients in your salad below. Add the dressing and enjoy!

Therapeutic Notes:

Beets activate liver enzymes & increase bile to help the liver’s detoxification process.  Beets are high in betalains & other compounds that reduce inflammation & protect the liver.  Beets also stimulate lymphatic flow & help increase oxygen by cleansing the blood .

Broccoli sprouts are super rich in sulphur. Sulphur + methionine which your body is getting from the protein you add to this salad is the basis for our master antioxidant glutathione which the liver needs in abundance for its detoxification process.

Arugula, radishes & radicchio are bitter foods which stimulate bile flow & contribute to liver health.

Coriander is a herb that is assists in detoxifying heavy metals from the body.

A Whole Day of Gut Microbiome Boosting Meals in Under 30min

Let’s just start off by accepting that there are not enough hours in the day. EVER.

That is why we are obsessed with ready-made meal kits and anything that will cut down the time we spend in the kitchen. But what those meal kits don’t take into account is your gut health - and by extension - your ablity to fight infections, to support your mental health & thrive. Your gut microbiome after all, is the epicentre of your immune system AND 90% of your body’s happy hormone serotonin.

Here’s a whole day of microbiome boosting meals in under 30min - cuz it’s never about the time - it’s about making time count.

The Colada Glow

Put 1/2 cup pineapple, 1/2 frozen banana, 2 cups spinach, 2 tbsp of hemp seeds, 1/4 avocado, 1 tbsp flax oil & 1.5 cup of water in a high-speed blender. Blend until smooth & serve. Rich in healthy fibre, fats, enzymes & protein, this smoothie will make your microbiome sing. (5min)

Upcycled Leftovers

There is nothing better than taking 4-5oz of leftover roast chicken & putting it on a bed of pre-washed lettuce. Want to soothe those intestinal muscles? Add some magnesium with a 1/4 avocado? And with only one more minute you can add a bit of extra fibre & immune boosting power with some chopped pepper & a handful of cherry tomatoes. A lunch that is ready in under 7 minutes & easy to digest so that you don’t compromise your afternoon productivity.

Brain-Boosting Hugs

Season a 4-5oz salmon steak with a pinch of salt, pepper & roast it for 10-13 min at 180C. While it’s cooking, put a big pot over medium heat & add a 1 tbsp of olive oil & slivered garlic (2 cloves). Pan fry the garlic until fragrant and add a box of pre-washed spinach or kale. Stir through the garlic & cook until wilted. If you want to be fancy, zest some lemon over the top & add roasted pumpkin seeds when serving. Serve with a piece of toasted rye bread.

Rich in anti-inflammatory omega3s, this quick meal is the best way to give your gut a warm hug & your brain a boost after a hard day. Your brain-gut axis will love you!

Need help making your time count? Reach out for a free 15 min discovery call with Cristina.

Cristina Tahoces is a nutritional therapist and owner of Thrive Nutrition Practice, a global online wellness business that helps leaders be more physically & mentally resilient to stress. She shared her nutritional approach on the TEDx stage in 2017 as part of the TED Women’s Global Conference. She is a sought-after expert speaker & panelist on burnout, women’s post-natal wellness & metabolic health.

How to Overcome the Greatest Obstacle for Starting a Wellness Routine

For the last six years, I've done a liver spring clean and this May, I would love for you to join me.

I've compiled all my best liver support recipes. I've nailed the herbal detox protocol. And I don't know if you knew, but according to Traditional Chinese Medicine, the liver houses the part of our spirit that never dies from one lifetime to the next. As a result, it is said to embody our reason for being. That's why it's the organ responsible for vision & planning, creative expression & personal development.

Liver spring clean, clearer life purpose -- here we come!

I just have one request:

Please don't follow the rules 100%.

You'd make me look bad.

You see, my dad's 80th is coming up. And my birthday is at the end of May too and then my daughter's birthday & graduation follow shortly thereafter and honestly, I'm going to have a glass of bubbly (or two...) And I will definitely be eating cake!

Does it sound like I'm totally sabotaging my liver spring clean? Maybe I shouldn't do it this year? What's the point?

The biggest reason why people don't commit to a wellness program is because they think they have to be able to commit 100%.

Oh Cristina, I would love to but....I must be available every day...be in the right frame of mind...not on holiday...not have a special occasion...be less busy...have more time...create space....not be traveling.

Girl - I get it. You're a high achiever. You want to make the most out of everything. But, here's the honest truth:

Health is a lifestyle choice where you integrate the good with the naughty; freedom with responsibility.
The freedom to eat what you want because you are also actively taking responsibility for your wellness. That tension -- that ability to stradle these opposing forces between the good & the naughty, freedom & responsibility - is what makes us human and feel truly alive.

Doing targeted liver support & integrating that work into your daily practices, knowing full well that you will "cheat" is THE WHOLE POINT!

I certainly don't do liver work so that I can treat my body like a temple. My life isn't a temple! It's stressful, frustrating & an emotional rollercoaster with it's fair share of f*ck it moments. But it is also - thankfully - full of long family lunches, friends getting together, date nights & celebrating connection.

I start my liver spring clean in May, but I'm not putting the brakes on my life.

Join me.

RSVP FOR THRIVE MIND BODY’S LIVER SPRING CLEAN STARTING IN MAY

Thrive Mind Body is a wellness coaching platform for savvy women who want to thrive - not just survive. It’s next intake in May when Cristina will take you step-by-step through her liver spring clean. You will get a therapeutic recipe collection to support your liver’s detoxification pathways, an effective & safe herbal protocol & all her best, evidenced-based tools to show your liver the love it’s always wanted.

Cristina Tahoces is a nutritional therapist and owner of Thrive Nutrition Practice, a global online wellness business that helps leaders be more physically & mentally resilient to stress. She shared her nutritional approach on the TEDx stage in 2017 as part of the TED Women’s Global Conference. She is a sought-after expert speaker & panelist on burnout, women’s post-natal wellness & metabolic health.

Fear Dissolving Tea: Unlocking Fear in the Body Using Love-led Nourishment

Fear Dissolving Ginger Tea

On March 11th, I left with my girls to New York for our March Break holiday. Three days before we left, the school reported a COVID case in my daughter's class. The night before we left, our music school called to say the girls' teacher had just been diagnosed with COVID. And when we landed in New York and met with my husband who had been there the whole week on business, he told me he thought he was coming down with a cold.

Did your insides do a little "oh no" with each sentence you read?

Because let me tell you that my husband's announcement put my stomach in knots. For the next five days, I couldn't stop thinking about scenarios of what we would do if this cold turned out to be COVID. I continuously told myself off for not cancelling this trip, when the world was obviously trying to tell me that COVID was still all around us and that I should just stay home. So much for being in the moment & enjoying this holiday.

After countless antigen tests, we began to trust that my husband's cold was the old-school kind. But it made me wonder: how long will the fear of COVID live within me - within all of us?

Fear is not an intangible emotion. The body remembers it and the organ centre where fear lives is the adrenals.

For how long will I flinch involuntarily when someone tries to hug me? For how long will I feel a pit in stomach every time I hear someone cough in my house? How many months or years will have to pass before my body catches up with my logical mind and stops fearing COVID?

This week in my wellness coaching platform Thrive Mind Body, we are unpacking fear, its impact on the nervous system & the mindset & nutrition tools we can use to help us process our fears and gently let them go so that they do not fester in the body causing undue harm.

As one of my great mentors, Jane Durst says: Our psychology becomes our biology. And our issues go into our tissues.

And when emotions, like fear paralyse us - we go into survival mode. And in this mode, we stop taking risks. And when we stop taking risks, we stop performing, growing; we stop feeling, we just go through the motions, until every day feels like Grounhog Day.

Can you (or your business) afford not to grow this year?

This mind-body phenomena is what we unpack each season in Thrive Mind Body because we are what we eat - and so much more.

Ready to start taking risks again and leaving Groundhog Day behind you?

The next intake for Thrive Mind Body is May 2nd. RSVP here.

Plus, May is the perfect time for a spring clean and to show the liver some love. And guess what? The liver is the organ centre for anger & frustration. Looking for a safe, non-judgemental place to channel that emotion? See you in May!

In the meantime, enjoy a cup of my Fear-Dissolving Tea: one of the many recipes included in this Season's therapeutic, love-led nourishment recipe collection.

Ingredients

• 2 tsp freshly grated ginger

• 1 stick cinnamon

• 1 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice

• 1.5 cups water

Method

Place the grated ginger & cinnamon in a sauce pan. Add water & bring to boil. Summer on low for 30min.

Strain the team & discard the ginger & cinnamon. Add the lemon juice & serve. Enjoy!

p.s. Make double or triple the recipe & store in a tightly sealed glass jar in the fridge.

How it Works

Ginger is am amazing adaptogenic root. I have used it with hundred's of clients and it has NEVER let us down. It supports flow in the digestive system, the adrenals, the lymphatic system. Without proper flow, toxicity (including toxic emotions) can get stuck in the body. Plus, it's got the added bonus of tasting great! Cinnamon is fabulous for blood sugar regulation which is compromised by fear because fear activates our adrenals glands provoking a cortisol & insulin response.

Want to have access to a weekly therapeutic recipe collection that shows you how to use food to love your body? Join Thrive Mind Body for its next intake in May.

Cristina Tahoces is a nutritional therapist and owner of Thrive Nutrition Practice, a global online wellness business that helps corporate leaders be more physically & mentally resilient to stress. She shared her nutritional approach on the TEDx stage in 2017 as part of the TED Women’s Global Conference. She is a sought-after expert speaker & panelist on burnout, women’s post-natal wellness & metabolic health.