“There’s always a hot thing,” said Elena Yorgason, a nutrition expert based in Blaine. “If you look at nutrition over the decades, there’s always something that gets a lot of hype.” One of the TikTok trends gaining traction in 2023, recommends eating just meat – something that Yorgason does not endorse. Absolutely not,” Yorgason said. “No.”
“Anytime there’s something extreme that should already be a red flag, right?” Yorgason said. “Anytime you’re eliminating a whole food group, you look at research, the mortality rate dips down. Immediately…It’s very difficult to survive on an all-meat, high protein diet. You need to know what you’re doing.”
Yorgason admits that sometimes unusual circumstances, such as chronic disease, force individuals to try something drastic in their eating if conventional models don’t work. But everyone should be careful and cautious.
Said Yorgason: “You’d really want to have sophisticated knowledge about nutrition to be able to pull it off in a way where you’re not harming yourself in the long term.”
PLANT POWER
Data and research shows that plant-based foods are the way to go, which is why fruits and veggies rank high on Yorgason’s list. The more color on your plate the better.
“Yeah, as long as it’s not M&M’S right?” Yorgason joked. ”Find the vegetables that are on sale that are plentiful. Those are the great ones to grab.”
Yorgason also believes in hydration. She once conducted a University of Utah study comparing water consumption in three groups of people who drank four, eight or 12 cups a day. The results showed that hydrating is crucial.
“What we found is the 12 cups of water per day is ideal,” Yorgason said. “These people had a higher metabolic rate. Just because they drank water, they burned about 100 calories more per day. They were in a better mood overall and they were more likely to exercise.”
As for liquor, Yorgason recommends less than one drink of alcohol per day for females and less than two for males.
SQUARE OF HAPPINESS
Yorgason focuses on four key pillars – nutrition, exercise, positive relationships and sleep. That forms her square of happiness.
Said Yorgason: “Sleep is more important than exercise and diet combined.”
Another key according to Yorgason, is don’t believe everything on the world wide web. The information super highway is sometimes the information super lieway. Always consider the source.
“As frustrated as you are with all the information, I am very frustrated that I have to work through all the misinformation that people have…” Yorgason said. “Be very careful about who you are listening too.”
Yorgason and psychotherapist Wendi Dunford have teamed up to assist individuals who battle food and weight issues. Their 30-day program is called RealSteps and there is info at www.Realsteps.org.
