A new study bolsters the claim that collagen supplements can help remodel your tendons and muscles
(Photo: MirageC/Getty)
Published August 11, 2025 03:23AM
It’s hard to claim that collagen is a “hot new supplement,” given that its health benefits were already being promoted by the twelfth-century Benedictine abbess Hildegard von Bingen. In its modern form, collagen supplements have been hyped for decades for purposes ranging from joint pain to hair thickness, despite a general lack of convincing evidence that they work. But interest has spiked over the past few years thanks to a burst of new research, and the latest study on the topic bolsters the claim that collagen might help build springier tendons and muscles to enhance explosive strength.
Why Collagen Might Help
I first wrote about the new wave of collagen research back in 2019, and followed up with more in 2023. The traditional view is that collagen-rich connective tissues such as tendons, ligaments, and cartilage are effectively inert, with very limited ability to grow or repair themselves after injury. What collagen proponents argue is that taking collagen supplements supplies the key building blocks—for example, an amino acid called proline—that trigger the synthesis of new connective tissue in the body.
The skeptical view is that collagen supplements are broken up into their constituent amino acids when you digest them, just like any other form of protein. As a result, they’re no more effective for building collagen in the body that, say, drinking a glass of milk (which also contains proline). There is, however, a bit of evidence that some collagen-specific peptides—short chains of amino acids—make it through the digestion process intact and show up in the bloodstream.
The evidence for these claims and counterclaims has been decidedly mixed. Part of the problem is that most of the studies use some combination of collagen and specific exercise protocols in an attempt to maximize the benefits, in the same way that protein supplements are most effective for building muscle when combined with strength training. This is a good idea, but it makes it tricky to interpret conflicting results. Did the study fail because collagen doesn’t work, or because the exercise protocol was too easy or too hard, or too weird?
The New Study
The latest study comes from researchers at Japan’s Juntendo University—working, it should be noted, with scientists from Morinaga & Co., which manufactures and sells health and sports “food products.” Their goal was to simplify the picture by studying the effects of 16 weeks of daily ten-gram collagen peptide supplements, with no other changes in exercise or diet. They recruited 50 volunteers, half of whom got the supplement while the other half got a placebo.
The specific hypothesis the researchers wanted to test was that collagen supplements would make tendons and muscles “stiffer,” in the sense that a stiff elastic band takes more force to stretch. This is what you’d expect if the collagen supplements trigger extra collagen formation in the tendons, which are primarily made of collagen fibers, and in the “extracellular matrix” that provides structural support to muscles.
Stiffer muscles and tendons should allow you to transfer force more efficiently from your muscles to your bones, making it possible to deliver force more rapidly. You’re not getting stronger, but you’re getting more explosive. This sort of explosive power is crucial both for athletic performance and for activities of daily living like getting out of a chair—and (as I wrote last fall) is also what we tend to lose most rapidly as we age.
What They Found
The results, which were published in Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, mostly support this hypothesis. They used MRI to measure the size of the Achilles tendon and part of the calf muscle; an ultrasound technique to measure the stiffness of the tendon and muscle; and a set of strength and power tests to see the functional effects of the supplementation.
Neither the tendon nor the muscle got any bigger, and the maximum calf strength didn’t change. But the elastic stiffness of both muscle and tendon increased in the collagen group, while staying unchanged in the placebo group. Here, for example, is the stiffness (as measured by how fast an ultrasound wave travels) for the collagen and placebo groups:
Collagen supplementation increased calf muscle stiffness. (Illustration: Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise)
Perhaps more importantly, the collagen group also saw an increase in “rate of torque development,” which is a measure of explosive strength that quantifies how quickly you can apply force:
Collagen supplementation increased explosive strength. (Illustration: Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise)
The final piece of the picture is that, for individual subjects, those who saw the biggest increases in muscle stiffness tended to see the biggest increases in explosive force. There wasn’t a clear connection between increases in tendon stiffness and increases in explosive force, but overall, the results support the chain of logic: more collagen -> stiffer muscles and tendons -> more explosive force.
What the Results Mean
You can make a much bigger argument on the basis of these results. Maybe you don’t care about tendons and explosive strength (though, honestly, you should). But if these results are true, then it suggests that there is something special about eating collagen—that it’s not just broken down into a potpourri of loose amino acids, and that it can trigger the remodelling of cartilage-based tissues. Maybe it really will thicken your hair; maybe it will repair your joints; maybe it will accelerate your recovery from ligament injuries.
These are big and as-yet-unproven claims, but if collagen works for tendon stiffness, then the other claims become a bit more plausible, at least in theory. I remain skeptical but intrigued. Given the mess of conflicting results produced by previous research, a single study funded by a supplement company—even with a robust sample size of 50—doesn’t settle the question either way. But it suggests that this is a line of research that’s very much worth pursuing, and that we should await further results with interest.
I’ve been writing Outside’s Sweat Science column since 2017. I’m a lifelong runner, a former physicist, and the author of the NYT bestseller Endure as well as a forthcoming (March 2025) book called The Explorer’s Gene. I live in Toronto.
Zoë chats with Dr Robert Cywes about his journey as a metabolic health specialist and his insights into food addiction, particularly carbohydrate addiction. He emphasizes the psychological aspects of eating behaviors, the role of insulin and hormones in obesity, and the impact of GLP-1 medications in treating metabolic diseases. Dr. Cywes advocates for a comprehensive approach to managing food addiction, which includes understanding emotional triggers, dietary changes, and the responsible use of medications.
In IBS Isn’t Forever, guest Talisa Joelle, a Board Certified Functional Health Practitioner and Certified Functional Diagnostic Nutrition Practitioner, shares her journey of overcoming chronic gut health issues. Talisa reveals how her own struggles with IBS, chronic gut issues, and unsuccessful treatments with both conventional and integrative medicine led her to discover a holistic root-cause approach through FDN.
She emphasizes the importance of lab testing and evidence-based practices in identifying underlying health problems and achieving long-lasting results, especially for women dealing with gut health issues. Talisa stresses that healing involves not just targeting harmful pathogens but also restoring the beneficial bacteria and overall gut ecosystem. She also touches on the broader implications of a healthy gut, such as improved energy, better sleep, and overall wellness.
Her work now focuses on helping women who have tried numerous treatments without success, utilizing comprehensive tests like metagenomic sequencing, mineral testing, and organic acid testing. The episode concludes with Talisa’s actionable advice for listeners: diversifying their diet with a variety of plants to nurture their gut health.
IBS Isn’t Forever: Topics
00:00 Introduction to the Health Detective Podcast
00:33 Meet Today’s Guest: Talisa Joelle
01:46 Talisa’s Early Health Struggles
03:32 Challenges with Conventional and Integrative Medicine
Does the so-called miracle tree live up to the hype?
Moringa (Moringa oleifera) is a plant commonly known as the “miracle” tree due to its purported healing powers across a spectrum of diseases. If “miracle” isn’t hyperbolic enough for you, “on the Internet,” it’s also known as “God’s Gift to Man.” Is moringa a miracle or just a mirage? “The enthusiasm for the health benefits of M. oleifera is in dire contrast with the scarcity of strong experimental and clinical evidence supporting them. Fortunately, the chasm is slowly being filled.” There has been a surge in scientific publications on moringa. In just the last ten years, the number of articles is closer to a thousand, as shown here and at 1:02 in my video The Benefits of Moringa: Is It the Most Nutritious Food?.
What got my attention was the presence of glucosinolates, compounds that boost our liver’s detoxifying enzymes. I thought they were only found in cruciferous vegetables, such as cabbage, broccoli, kale, collards, and cauliflower. Still, it turns out they’re also present in the moringa family, with a potency comparable to broccoli. But rather than mail-ordering exotic moringa powder, why not just eat broccoli?Is there something special about moringa?
“Moringa oleifera has been described as the most nutritious tree yet discovered,” but who eats trees? Moringa supposedly “contains higher amounts of elemental nutrients than most conventional vegetable sources,” such as featuring 10 times more vitamin A than carrots, 12 times more vitamin C than oranges, 17 times more calcium than milk, 15 times more potassium than bananas, 25 times more iron than spinach, and 9 times more protein than yogurt, as shown here and at 2:08 in myvideo. Sounds impressive, but first of all, even if this were true, it is relevant for 100 grams of dry moringa leaf, which is about 14 tablespoons, almost a whole cup of leaf powder. Researchers have had trouble getting people to eat even 20 grams, so anything more would likely “result in excessively unpleasant taste, due to the bitterness of the leaves.”
Secondly, the nutritional claims in these papers are “adapted from Fuglie,” which is evidently a lay publication. If you go to the nutrient database of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and enter a more reasonable dose, such as the amount that might be in a smoothie, about a tablespoon, for instance, a serving of moringa powder has as much vitamin A as a quarter of one baby carrot and as much vitamin C as one one-hundredth of an orange. So, an orange has as much vitamin C as a hundred tablespoons of moringa. A serving of moringa powder has the calcium of half a cup of milk, the potassium of not fifteen bananas but a quarter of one banana, the iron of a quarter cup of spinach, and the protein of a third of a container of yogurt, as seen below and at 3:15 in my video. So, it may be nutritious, but not off the charts and certainly not what’s commonly touted. So, again, why not just eat broccoli?
Moringa does seem to have anticancer activity—in a petri dish—against cell lines of breast cancer, lung cancer, skin cancer, and fibrosarcoma, while tending to leave normal cells relatively alone, but there haven’t been any clinical studies. What’s the point in finding out that “Moringa oleifera extract enhances sexual performance in stressed rats,” as one study was titled?
Studies like “Effect of supplementation of drumstick (Moringa oleifera) and amaranth (Amaranthus tricolor) leaves powder on antioxidant profile and oxidative status among postmenopausal women” started to make things a little interesting. When researchers were testing the effects of a tablespoon of moringa leaf powder once a day for three months on antioxidant status, they saw a drop in oxidative stress, as one might expect from eating any healthy plant food. However, they also saw a drop in fasting blood sugars from prediabetic levels exceeding 100 to more normal levels. Now, that’s interesting. Should we start recommending a daily tablespoon of moringa powder to people with diabetes, or was it just a fluke? I’ll discuss the study “Moringa oleifera and glycemic [blood sugar] control: A review of the current evidence” next.
Yes, probiotics can help with weight loss. Studies show that certain probiotic strains, especially Lactobacillus gasseri, can reduce body weight, belly fat, and waist size by improving gut bacteria balance and changing how your body processes food.
Your gut is home to trillions of tiny helpers called bacteria. These little guys do more than just help you digest food – they can actually help you lose weight too! The right balance of good bacteria in your gut can make a big difference in how your body stores fat and burns calories. Let’s explore how these amazing microbes can become your weight loss partners.
Understanding Your Gut Bacteria and Weight
The Good Guys vs The Not-So-Good Guys
Your gut has two main families of bacteria: Firmicutes and Bacteroidetes. Think of them like roommates in your belly. People with obesity tend to have more Firmicutes bacteria and fewer Bacteroidetes, compared with people at healthy weights.
Here’s the simple breakdown:
Firmicutes bacteria love refined carbs and sugars. They’re really good at pulling calories from food
Bacteroidetes bacteria prefer fiber-rich whole foods and help keep weight balanced
A diet heavy on pizza, pasta, bread and sugary sodas gives Firmicutes ample fuel to multiply — and can potentially affect your health. When you have too many Firmicutes, your body becomes like a super-efficient calorie-harvesting machine, storing more energy as fat.
How Gut Bacteria Affect Your Weight
Studies suggest that gut bacteria may play a powerful role in body weight regulation. These tiny organisms work in several ways:
Calorie extraction – Some bacteria help you get more calories from the same amount of food
Hormone production – They influence hunger and fullness signals
Inflammation control – Good bacteria reduce inflammation that can lead to weight gain
Fat storage – They affect how and where your body stores fat
How Probiotics Help You Lose Weight
The Science Behind Probiotic Weight Loss
Probiotics seem to influence appetite and energy usage via the production of acetate, propionate, and butyrate, which are short-chain fatty acids. These special fatty acids work like tiny messengers, telling your body to:
Feel full sooner
Burn more calories
Store less fat
Reduce inflammation
Key Weight Loss Mechanisms
Blocking Calorie Absorption Certain probiotics may inhibit the absorption of dietary fat, increasing the amount of fat excreted with feces. This means your body “harvests” fewer calories from the foods you eat.
Hormone Regulation Probiotics may help release the appetite-reducing hormones glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) and peptide YY (PYY). When these hormones increase, you naturally feel less hungry and eat less.
Fat Storage Control Probiotics may increase levels of the protein angiopoietin-like 4 (ANGPTL4), which may lead to decreased fat storage.
Fighting Inflammation By improving the health of your gut lining, probiotics may reduce systemic inflammation and protect against obesity.
The Best Probiotic Strains for Weight Loss
Lactobacillus Gasseri – The Weight Loss Champion
This strain is the star player when it comes to weight loss. Lactobacillus gasseri decreased body weight, BMI, waist circumference, body fat mass or fat percentage in those with overweight or obesity.
Real Results:
People with extra belly fat who drank fermented milk products containing the bacteria lost 8.2–8.5% of their belly fat over 12 weeks
Weight loss happened even without strict dieting
Reduced waist size and overall body fat
How It Works: L. gasseri helps by reducing inflammation in fat tissue and blocking fat absorption in your intestines. It’s like having a tiny personal trainer working inside your gut!
Other Powerful Weight Loss Strains
Lactobacillus Rhamnosus Women who took the probiotic supplement lost more weight during the study than women who took a placebo. This strain seems especially helpful for women trying to lose weight.
Bifidobacterium Species A probiotic that included strains of both Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium helped people lose more weight than those taking a placebo. The combination approach often works better than single strains.
What the Research Really Shows
Study Results That Matter
After systematic review of studies from the past 10 years, significant weight reduction was observed in 66.6% of cases. That means about 2 out of 3 people who took probiotics saw real weight loss results.
Average Weight Loss:
People lost about 2 pounds of total body weight, all of which was fat, dropping their body fat percentage by 0.68%
Results typically showed after 2-6 months of consistent use
Best results came from combining different probiotic strains
The Gut-Brain Connection
The gut-brain axis serves as a complex bidirectional communication system, playing a crucial role in regulating glucose homeostasis and appetite. Your gut bacteria literally talk to your brain about when you’re hungry and when you’ve had enough to eat.
When you have the right balance of good bacteria, this communication system works better. You feel satisfied with less food and have fewer cravings for sugary or high-fat foods.
Natural Ways to Boost Weight-Loss Probiotics
Foods That Feed Good Bacteria
Prebiotic-Rich Foods:
Onions and garlic
Sweet potatoes
Artichokes
Bananas (slightly green ones work best)
Oats and whole grains
Prebiotic fibers not only give Bacteroidetes sufficient food, but they also get converted into short-chain fatty acids, which may help reduce inflammation and control blood sugar.
Fermented Foods for Natural Probiotics
Best Natural Sources:
Plain yogurt with live cultures
Kefir
Sauerkraut
Kimchi
Kombucha
Miso
These foods naturally contain beneficial bacteria that can help improve your gut balance. Choose options without added sugars for the best weight loss benefits.
Foods to Limit
To help good bacteria thrive and support weight loss:
Cut back on refined sugars and processed carbs
Reduce artificial sweeteners
Limit highly processed foods
Avoid unnecessary antibiotics when possible
Getting Started With Probiotics for Weight Loss
Choosing the Right Probiotic Supplement
Look for supplements that contain:
Multiple strains (combination works better than single strains)
At least 1-10 billion CFU (colony-forming units)
Lactobacillus gasseri if weight loss is your main goal
Third-party testing for quality assurance
What to Expect
Timeline for Results:
Week 1-2: Your gut starts adjusting (you might feel some bloating initially)
Week 4-8: Energy levels may improve
Week 8-12: Weight loss effects typically become noticeable
3-6 months: Best results when combined with healthy eating
Realistic Expectations: Remember, probiotics aren’t magic weight loss pills. The most reliable way to lose weight is to eat a healthy diet and exercise regularly, so you’re burning more calories than you’re consuming.
Combining Probiotics With Healthy Lifestyle
The Winning Formula
Probiotics work best as part of a complete approach to natural weight loss. Here’s how to maximize your results:
Diet Support:
Movement Matters:
Regular exercise boosts the benefits of probiotics
Even walking 30 minutes daily can help
Strength training supports healthy metabolism
Lifestyle Factors:
Working With a Nutrition Professional
If you’re struggling with weight loss despite eating well and exercising, consider working with a holistic nutritionist. They can help you:
Identify food sensitivities that might be affecting your gut health
Create a personalized nutrition plan
Determine if probiotics are right for your specific situation
Address underlying issues that might be blocking weight loss
Safety and Side Effects
Is It Safe for Everyone?
Probiotics are generally safe for most healthy people. However:
Possible Side Effects:
Temporary bloating or gas when first starting
Mild digestive upset that usually resolves within a week
Changes in bowel movements (usually temporary)
Who Should Be Careful:
People with compromised immune systems
Those taking immunosuppressive medications
Anyone with severe underlying health conditions
Always talk to your healthcare provider before starting any new supplement, especially if you have health concerns.
Quality Matters
As a food product or supplement, probiotics don’t go through the same rigorous testing as medicines. Choose high-quality products from reputable companies that provide:
Clear strain identification
Guaranteed potency through expiration
Proper storage instructions
Third-party testing results
The Future of Probiotics and Weight Loss
Personalized Approaches
Scientists are working on ways to tailor probiotic treatments to individual gut bacteria patterns. Researchers at the University of Washington demonstrated that the composition of the gut microbiome can help predict the potential for weight loss.
This means in the future, you might be able to test your gut bacteria and get customized probiotic recommendations for the best weight loss results.
Emerging Research
New studies are exploring:
Combination probiotics with specific prebiotic fibers
Timing of probiotic intake for optimal results
How probiotics interact with different diet patterns
Long-term effects of probiotic supplementation
Final Thoughts
The role of probiotics in weight loss is exciting and promising, but it’s not a simple fix. These beneficial bacteria can definitely help tip the scales in your favor by improving gut health, reducing inflammation, and helping your body process food more efficiently.
The key is thinking of probiotics as helpful partners in your weight loss journey, not magic solutions. When combined with a nutritious diet, regular movement, and healthy lifestyle habits, probiotics can give you that extra boost you need to reach your goals.
Remember, balance and diversity are more important than any one group or species of bacteria. Focus on feeding your good bacteria with plenty of fiber-rich foods, staying active, managing stress, and being patient with the process.
If you’re ready to explore how probiotics and personalized nutrition can support your weight loss goals, consider scheduling a free consultation to learn more about natural approaches that work with your body’s natural systems.
Your gut bacteria are ready to become your weight loss allies – give them the support they need to help you succeed!
The white, clumpy curd was all the rage in the early 20th century, but it has recently made a comeback. Young people are putting it in everything from dips and pastries to ice cream. While once pushed as a meat alternative during the First World War, its current craze seems to be rooted in Zoomers’ quest to achieve #fitlife. So, what makes cottage cheese the protein-packed star of the moment?
(Photo: Left: Canadian-American actress Ann Rutherford (1917 – 2012) prepares herself a pineapple and cottage cheese salad sprinkled with paprika, circa 1939, Archive Photos/Getty Images; Right: Cottage cheeses: Trader Joe’s, Daisy Brand, Good Culture; Design: Ayana Underwood)
Published August 6, 2025 03:00AM
I have a confession: in the middle of my 75 Hard spiral—a social media-sanctioned self-optimization grind disguised as a fitness challenge—I made queso. Not just any queso. Cottage cheese queso. This is a sentence I never thought I’d write.
I started the challenge this past February—partly to beat the winter blues in the Northeast, and partly because I needed a reset after taste-testing one too many of Santa’s cookies. I was committed to said challenge. This meant: doing two 45-minute workouts (at least one of them outdoors), reading ten pages of a nonfiction book, and drinking a gallon of water . . . each day. Most intimidatingly, I was supposed to stick to a diet of my choosing. I went all in: HIIT training, 4.5-mile runs, Becoming Supernatural queued up on my e-reader, and a squeaky-clean keto plan that had me eating organic, grass-fed (and grass-finished) beef that I could barely afford. I tracked macros and considered electrolyte ratios. I had come to terms with the fact that I’d become someone who used the term “electrolyte ratios” in casual conversation.
And then I burned out.
Somewhere around Day 42, I traded mountain climbers for Yin Yoga. I prioritized taking long walks, watching white-tailed rabbits hopping alongside the estuary near my home in Boston, Massachusetts, over chasing yesterday’s personal best. The diet? That crumbled when I tried to justify the cost of avocados and eggs and failed. (Within the last year, the price of a single avocado rose by 75 percent, and the usual three bucks I’d spend on a carton of eggs turned into five.)
Still, I wanted to eat well(ish), which for me, means protein-heavy, low-effort, and ideally not financially ruinous. So, like any overstimulated elder millennial trying to avoid decision fatigue (and wear sunscreen, and hydrate, and remember to call mom), I turned to Instagram.
Welcome @KetoSnackz to the chat. With 3.5 million followers, Rick Wiggins shares quick, high-protein recipes meant to satisfy cravings while staying protein-powered. His creations looked suspiciously easy. His voice was refreshingly monotone. I was in.
As I scrolled, one ingredient kept popping up, an ingredient I found personally affronting: cottage cheese. It was white and lumpy. It was wet. It was everywhere. Rick blended it into pizza crusts, brownies, and pancakes. And it wasn’t just on Rick’s page. TikTok, too, had fully surrendered to the curd—which was confusing. Because for me, I never saw it in my Caribbean household growing up. My parents didn’t eat it. We didn’t cook with it. To borrow from Mariah Carey: I don’t know her.
So when I made queso out of it (blended with cheddar, cream, taco seasoning, and hot sauce) and served it to a friend while hanging out, I didn’t tell them what was in it. They liked it. Called it “fire.” Then I broke the news.
They looked at me like I’d confessed to putting mayonnaise in brownies: “Wait . . . like, real cottage cheese?”
“Yes. From a tub. Bought on purpose.”
I was surprised, too, because the queso was, in fact, fire. But I was also curious. Because how did goat cheese’s sad, curdled step-cousin become America’s newest protein-packed heartthrob?
I. TikTok, but Make It Clumpy
In April 2023, holistic nutritionist Lainie Kates—@lainiecooks on TikTok and one of the creatorscredited for the renewed interest in cottage cheese—posted a high-protein peanut butter cheesecake “ice cream” recipe. In it, she blended cottage cheese, peanut butter, chocolate chips, and maple syrup. Froze it. Ate it. Her video went viral. The internet was flooded with cheesecake bowls, ranch dips, and “protein donuts”—most of which starred cottage cheese. It didn’t matter that the texture was off-putting. It blended well. It hit macros. That was enough.
Then brands caught on. In 2024, Daisy, sour cream’s shepherd, partnered with The Bachelor’s Daisy Kent to promote the brand’s equally famous cottage cheese.
Just this month, Trader Joe’s dropped Ranch Cottage Cheese Dip. Good Culture, a brand started in 2015, was literally born out of the desire to bring a revamped, better-tasting, and healthier version of cottage cheese to the public. A few weeks ago, they put out a meme-laden statement on Instagram saying that they can’t keep up with the demand for their iconic cottage cheese, confirming the cheese’s renewed popularity.
“We’ve all been manifesting this partnership for a while, and I’m thrilled to officially announce it. Not only do we share a name, but Daisy is my go-to brand that I have been eating since I was a kid.”— Daisy Kent (Photo: Courtesy of Daisy Brand)
In the early 1900s, the U.S. had a problem: meat was scarce during World War I. To help conserve it, the U.S. Department of Agriculture promoted dairy as a substitute. Posters encouraged people to “Eat More Cottage Cheese.” It wasn’t just a suggestion; it was patriotism.
(Photo: Left: Government-issued wartime educational poster encouraging Americans to eat more cottage cheese in place of meat, 1917, USDA National Agricultural Library/Getty Images; Right: The USDA’s pamphlet of cottage cheese-based dishes, 1918. U.S. Department of Agriculture via The Food Historian. Design: Ayana Underwood)
By the 1950s, cottage cheese had migrated from the war effort to weight-loss plans. It was low in fat, high in protein, and flavorless enough to avoid overindulgence. You could measure it. You (probably) wouldn’t overeat it. Thus, it was ideal for calorie counting.
That’s right around the time when the “diet plate” made its way to America’s diner menus—usually a scoop of cottage cheese, a ring of canned peach or sliced tomato, maybe a wedge of iceberg lettuce. It wasn’t really a meal. It was more of a performance. A way to show you were being good. These plates lingered well into the seventies and eighties, eventually evolving into the “Lite” menu I remember seeing at Long Island diners during my childhood in the nineties. Same scoop, same canned fruit—just rebranded for the next generation of restraint.
By 1972, Americans were eating about five pounds of cottage cheese per person each year. Even Richard Nixon was known to pair his with ketchup. YUM. He had such a lust for lactose, in fact, that he reportedly requested cottage cheese at his 1969 inauguration dinner. And when he resigned from office in 1974? His final White House lunch was cottage cheese with pineapple and a glass of milk. A presidency bookended by curds.
Richard Nixon’s last White House lunch. (Photo: Robert Knudsen/Nixon Library)
III. Who Was It Really For?
Not everyone was eating it. Rather, not everyone was meant to be eating it. Mid-twentieth-century food campaigns primarily targeted white, middle-class women. Cottage cheese came with a message—eat this, stay thin, stay beautiful, stay in control.
Cottage cheese was sold as a democratic food: cheap, accessible, healthy. But it never belonged to everyone.
Even when it showed up in government campaigns and school lunches, it wasn’t a staple in every home. It simply didn’t catch on in many immigrant, Black, and working-class communities. Part of that was logistics. Cottage cheese requires refrigeration, fresh milk, and a cold distribution chain, not always available in rural or low-income areas.
Look at the ads. White women in full makeup, smiling at tubs of cottage cheese like they’d just invented it. One Eden Vale ad shows a nuclear family floating through a suburban utopia, landing at a table set with cottage cheese salads and a big tomato. A Knudsen ad features a flawless woman offering a tub of “VELVET creamed cottage cheese,” promising sweetness, lightness, and domestic perfection. Borden’s went all in: cartoon cows, crisp lettuce, and cottage cheese rings studded with peas and carrot sticks. No spice, no mess—just a carefully styled portrait of control, domestic order, and cultural exclusion.
(Photo: Left: Eden Vale Cottage Cheese Ad, A stylized print ad emphasizing Eden Vale as a fresh, healthy household staple. Source: Alamy – Stock Photography Database; Middle: Knudsen Cottage Cheese Ad (Mid-20th Century) features a smiling white homemaker presenting cottage cheese in a pristine kitchen. Source: Pinterest – Vintage Recipes Archive; Right: Borden’s Cottage Cheese Ad (1951) Features “Elsie the Cow” and showcases salad-topped cottage cheese with the tagline: “Lift the Lid…” Source: Alamy Stock Photo Archive; Design: Marisa McMillan)
These images weren’t neutral. They reinforced the message: this is who eats this, and this is how you serve it. In her 2011 book, Food Is Love: Food Advertising and Gender Roles in Modern America, historian Katherine J. Parkin argues that mid-20th-century food advertising reinforced narrow ideals of femininity, pressuring women to equate thinness, domestic perfection, and family nourishment with personal value.
But the bigger issue was taste. Cottage cheese didn’t reflect the ingredients or textures of most non-white food cultures.
My Caribbean family’s fridge, for example, held sorrel, pepper sauce, and mango chutney, not clumps of dairy. So, when I brought home a container of Good Culture to recreate my (self-proclaimed) famous queso, they looked at it suspiciously. Then they asked what I planned to do with it. When I said “queso,” they raised their eyebrows and sucked their teeth. They weren’t offended. Just confused. It’s understandable because the marketing never spoke to them. And it wasn’t designed to.
IV. Cottage Cheese Loses Its Steam
Even among the people it was supposedly for, cottage cheese couldn’t hold on.
By the 1980s, its popularity started to slide—quietly edged out by a new dairy star with smoother texture, stronger marketing, and fewer identity issues: yogurt. High in protein, rich in backstory, and aggressively rebranded as a probiotic superfood, yogurt didn’t just enter the chat—it took over the conversation.
Cottage cheese didn’t know how to compete. There were no new formats, no updated flavors, no attempt to win over younger shoppers. It stayed in its big old tub, parked on the fridge shelf. Meanwhile, yogurt was out living its best life—popping up as Go-Gurt in school lunchboxes, and with glass jars with foil lids in meal-preps. One became a lifestyle product; the other stayed a buffet-line staple at your grandmother’s favorite salad bar.
The texture didn’t help. In a 2012 study published in the Journal of Dairy Science, researchers found that texture was the biggest barrier to cottage cheese acceptance, especially among younger consumers. The graininess, visual lumpiness, and curdy mouthfeel turned people off, even when the fat and protein content hit all the right numbers. Even versions labeled “low-fat” or “high-protein” couldn’t overcome the basic sensory mismatch. People didn’t hate what it stood for. They just didn’t want to eat it and feel it on their tongues.
At the same time, yogurt brands were investing in stories. Chobani was founded by an immigrant entrepreneur who turned a struggling factory into a billion-dollar company. Dannon built a whole campaign around Georgian centenarians and the secret to long life. Yogurt had a point of view. Cottage cheese didn’t even have a spokesperson.
By the 2010s, yogurt was outselling cottage cheese nearly eight to one. And cottage cheese wasn’t just fading in market share—it was fading in memory. It stopped being an expectation. For most people, it stopped being an option.
So when it started trending again—sneaking into dips, desserts, and TikTok reels—it felt less like a comeback and more like a glitch. Cottage cheese didn’t evolve. It was just repurposed. And maybe that’s the clearest sign of its legacy: it survives not by being loved but by being useful.
V. Diet Culture, Rebranded
Today’s cottage cheese wave still centers on the same values: control, efficiency, and self-regulation. The language changed, but the pressure stayed. It’s no longer “stay thin for your husband,” it’s “optimize your macros.”
The look changed, too. It’s not a scoop on a peach slice. It’s whipped, blended, hidden in dips, ice creams, and sauces. It’s in a glass bowl, drizzled with chili crisp and tagged #highprotein on an influencer’s “What I Eat in a Day” reel. But the performance is the same: eat this to prove you’re doing the work.
We used to count calories (some people still do). Now we count macros. We used to tally Weight Watchers points. Now we use apps and fitness watches to track calories burned. We used to aim for thin. Now we say lean.
Blending until smooth is a requirement. The texture is still a problem, it’s just one we’re now expected to fix. And the brands know that.
Modern cottage cheese branding sells function first: gut health, low carb, high protein. The packaging often mirrors wellness trends—clean lines, block fonts, neutral palettes—the same aesthetic you’d find in a Scandinavian furniture showroom. Some lean into compliance culture, highlighting Whole30- or keto-friendly ingredients. Others soften the message by adding flavor cues, but even then, pleasure is usually positioned as a bonus, not the point.
Take Trader Joe’s ranch cottage cheese dip: “a fantastically flavorful dip,” yes—but only after mentioning its protein content, versatility, and use in pancakes, pasta, and frittatas. The indulgence comes with an asterisk. It’s not just tasty—it’s functional.
I’ve tried the Good Culture stuff. It’s fine. It blends well. But cottage cheese itself still needed a rebrand—not because it was forgotten, but because it was never truly loved. It has to justify itself because it can’t rely on flavor or nostalgia.
Maybe that’s why it fits so well into modern wellness culture. We’ve replaced calorie charts with meal-prep hacks. But the goal remains: Build a better body. Be a better person. Stay in control.
Cottage cheese still fits that mold. Just like it always has.
VI. Reflection: The Cheese That Refused to Quit
I didn’t expect to end up here—with a half-used container of cottage cheese in my fridge and a short list of recipes I’m not embarrassed to share. I still don’t love it. I don’t crave it. But I’ve learned to respect it.
That respect came from looking back. Cottage cheese didn’t trend because a TikToker froze it into a dessert. It’s been around for over a century, always showing up when we decide food should prove something. War, weight loss, wellness—cottage cheese shows up to work. (FYI: I explain some even more extraordinary uses for cottage cheese in the video below.)
Once it was about thrift. Then self-denial. Now it’s optimization. But the message doesn’t change: If you eat this, you’re trying. You’re disciplined. You’re doing it right.
And that’s why it still makes people uncomfortable.
You don’t have to explain why you like donuts. But cottage cheese? You need a reason. High protein. Gut-friendly. You don’t just eat it, you earn it.
Whether I’ve earned it or not, I’ve blended it into queso. Stirred it into pancakes. Eaten it—very reluctantly—by the spoonful. Once. I’m not a fan.
But I’m not against it anymore, either.
Marisa McMillan is a first-generation Caribbean-American writer, podcast host, and relationship management professional with a passion for storytelling, social justice, and asking the questions that often go unspoken. With a background in eCommerce strategy, client partnerships, and digital communication, she brings curiosity, humor, and heart to every conversation. She hosts a podcast that explores women’s health through honest dialogue, generational storytelling, and the kinds of questions rarely asked out loud. Rooted in a love of nature, movement, and meaningful connection, Marisa sees storytelling as a bridge—elevating overlooked narratives and creating space for empathy, growth, and impact. She holds a B.A. in English and Political Science from Boston University.
When it comes to fussy eating, most people think of toddlers refusing broccoli or kids pushing peas to the side of the plate. But what if food avoidance goes beyond the typical picky phase and starts to impact someone’s health, growth, or quality of life?
That’s where Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID) comes in — a type of eating disorder that’s much more complex and distressing for both the individual and their loved ones.
What Does ARFID Look Like?
ARFID can present in different ways, often falling into one or more of these categories:
Low appetite or disinterest in eating
Sensory sensitivities – strong aversions to specific textures, smells, colours or tastes
Fear-based avoidance – concerns about negative experiences like choking, vomiting, or nausea
Unlike other eating disorders, ARFID is not related to body image concerns.
Health Impacts of ARFID
The consequences of ARFID can significantly affect overall health and wellbeing, including:
Malnutrition – weight loss or stunted growth, particularly in children
Nutritional deficiencies – increased risk of conditions such as anaemia, osteopenia (low bone density), and hypoglycaemia (low blood sugar) due to limited food intake
Social impacts – avoiding events with food, school camps, or family dinners, which can reduce quality of life
Reliance on oral nutrition supplements (ONS) – which may not be sustainable long term
Psychosocial effects – high anxiety around food and mealtimes, rigid routines, and family distress
How Can Dietitians Help?
Dietitians play a key role in supporting individuals with ARFID through a gentle, personalised, and non-judgemental approach. Here’s how we can help:
Support Energy and Supplement Requirements We’ll help identify your individual energy needs and provide practical strategies to gradually increase intake, whether through food or supplements.
Support Mealtimes and Sensory-Friendly Environments Predictability helps reduce anxiety. We work to establish consistent meal routines and environments that feel secure and comfortable.
Expand Food Variety Gradual exposure is essential. We guide clients through safe, step-by-step strategies to broaden food choices and acceptance over time.
Collaborate with a Multidisciplinary Team We work alongside Psychologists, General Practitioners, and Paediatricians to create a team-based approach that supports the whole family. This includes managing anxiety, developing meal strategies, and building a more positive food environment.
Managing ARFID requires understanding the complex relationship between emotional responses, sensory preferences, and nutrition. With patience, structure, and the right support, individuals can move towards a more balanced and nourishing diet.
If you or a loved one is navigating ARFID and needs help with nutrition, book an initial consultation at Lane Cove, Hunters Hill, Rozelle or online. Together, we can create a tailored, compassionate plan to help you or your child feel their best — every day.
Why Diets Fail and Metabolic Burnout Wins: Summary
In this episode, Evan Transue, also known as Detective Ev, interviews holistic wellness advocate and FDN Practitioner Deniece Guyan. With nearly three decades of experience as a certified personal trainer and health coach, Deniece shares her journey into the Functional Diagnostic Nutrition space, driven by her own health challenges. She details her battle with exhaustion, brain fog, and other symptoms that led her to consult holistic practitioners and eventually join the Functional Diagnostic Nutrition program.
During the episode, Deniece emphasizes the importance of addressing the root causes of health issues rather than just the symptoms, highlighting how overexertion and poor recovery were central to her health struggles. Deniece elaborates on the critical role of metabolic health and the concept of HPA axis dysfunction, stressing how understanding and managing cortisol levels and overall stress can dramatically impact fitness and wellness. She underscores the significance of balancing high-intensity activities with adequate recovery and whole foods, noting that many people often mistake exercise and a high caloric deficit as definitive paths to health, whereas they could be inadvertently harming their metabolic functions. Deniece also discusses client case examples, explaining how functional lab testing and personalized coaching have enabled her to guide them more effectively towards optimal health and weight management.
Wrapping up the conversation, Deniece reflects on the shift in her career post-FDN certification, now focusing more on holistic health consultations over traditional personal training. She advocates for incorporating weightlifting into regular routines to enhance insulin sensitivity, bone density, and overall well-being. Deniece’s approach combines scientific insights with practical applications, making her a valuable resource for individuals seeking sustainable health improvements.
Emulsifiers are the most widely used food additives. What are they doing to our gut microbiome?
When grocery shopping these days, unless you’re sticking to the produce aisle, “it is nearly impossible to avoid processed foods, particularly in the consumption of a typical Western diet,” which is characterized by insufficient plant foods, too much meat, dairy, and eggs, and a lot of processed junk, “along with increased exposure to additives due to their use in processed foods.”
The artificial sweetener sucralose, for example, which is sold as Splenda, “irrefutably disrupts the gut microbiome at doses relevant to human use” and “induces glucose intolerance.” In other words, it can make our blood sugars worse instead of better. It’s relatively easy to avoid artificial sweeteners, but “it may be much more difficult to avoid ingestion of emulsifiers…because they are commonly added to a wide variety of foods within the modern Western diet.” In fact, “emulsifiers are the most widely used additives,” and “most processed foods contain one or more emulsifiers that allow such foods to maintain desired textures and avoid separation into distinct parts (e.g, oil and water layers).” We now consume emulsifiers by the megaton every year, thanks to a multibillion-dollar industry, as you can see below and at 1:03 in my video Are Emulsifiers Like Carboxymethylcellulose and Polysorbate 80 Safe?.
Emulsifiers are commonly found in fatty dressings, breads and other baked goods, mayonnaise and other fatty spreads, candy, and beverages. “Like all authorized food additives, emulsifiers have been evaluated by risk assessors, who consider them safe. However, there are growing concerns among scientists about their possible harmful effects on our intestinal barriers and microbiota,” in terms of causing a leaky gut. As well, they could possibly “increase the absorption of several environmental toxins, including endocrine disruptors and carcinogens” present in the food.
We know that the consumption of ultra-processed foods may contribute to weight gain. Healthier, longer-lived populations not only have low meat intake and high plant intake, but they also eat minimally processed foods and “have far less chronic diseases, obesity rates, and live longer disease-free.” Based on a number of preclinical studies, it may be that the emulsifiers found in processed foods are playing a role, but who cares if “emulsifiers make rats gain weight”? When we read that “emulsifiers can cause striking changes in the microbiota,” they aren’t talking about the microbiota of humans.
Often, mice are used to study the impact on the microbiome, but “only a few percent of the bacterial genes are shared between mice and humans.” Even the gut flora of different strains of mice can be considerably different from each other, so if we can’t even extrapolate from one type of mouse to another, how are we supposed to translate results from mice to humans? “Remarkably, there has been little study of the potential harmful effects of ingested…emulsifiers in humans.”
Take lecithin, for example, which is “perhaps best known as a key component of egg yolks.” Lecithin was found to be worse than polysorbate 80 in terms of allowing bacteria to leak through the gut wall into the bloodstream. However, it’s yet to be determined whether lecithin consumption in humans causes the same problem. “There is certainly a paucity in the data of human trials with the effects of emulsifiers in processed foods,” but we at least have data on human tissue, cells, and gut flora.
A study was titled: “Dietary emulsifiers directly alter the human microbiota composition and gene expression ex vivo potentiating intestinal inflammation.” Ex vivo means outside the body. Researchers inoculated an artificial gut with fresh human feces until a stable culture was established, then added carboxymethylcellulose (CMC) or polysorbate 80 (P80), resulting in boosts in proinflammatory potential starting within one day with the carboxymethylcellulose and within the first week with polysorbate 80, as you can see below and at 3:39 in my video.
“This approach revealed that both P80 and CMC acted directly upon human microbiota to increase its proinflammatory potential…” When researchers then tested the effect of these emulsifiers on the protective mucus layer in petri dish cultures of human gut lining cells, they found that they can partially disrupt the protective layer. As you can see below and at 4:00 in my video, the green staining is the mucus. Both emulsifiers cut down the levels.
However, this study and the last both used emulsifier concentrations that were far in excess of what people might typically get day-to-day.
“Translocation of Crohn’s disease Escherichia coli across M-cells: contrasting effects of soluble plant fibres and emulsifiers” is probably the study that raised the greatest potential concern. The researchers surgically obtained cells, as well as actual intestinal wall tissue, and found that polysorbate 80 could double the invasion of E. coli through the intestinal lining tissue, as shown here and at 4:27 in my video.
In contrast, adding fiber—in this case, fiber from plantains—could seal up the gut wall tissue twice as tightly, as seen below and at 4:33.
In this episode of the Health Detective Podcast by Functional Diagnostic Nutrition, host Evan Transue (Detective Ev) interviews Nicole Bell, an author, entrepreneur, and advocate for tick-borne and neurodegenerative diseases. Nicole shares her deeply personal story about her husband’s battle with a misdiagnosed tick-borne illness, initially thought to be early-onset Alzheimer’s disease.
She discusses the initial symptoms her husband exhibited, their struggle to find a proper diagnosis, and the eventual discovery that he had Lyme disease along with Bartonella and Babesia. This experience led Nicole to become passionate about improving the diagnostic standards for tick-borne diseases. She is now the CEO of Galaxy Diagnostics; a company focused on developing more accurate testing methodologies to prevent others from enduring similar experiences.
The episode emphasizes the importance of early and accurate diagnosis in the fight against tick-borne diseases. Nicole explains the limitations of current standard diagnostic tests, which often result in false negatives, and introduces the advanced testing methods utilized by Galaxy Diagnostics that improve detection rates. Additionally, she advocates for routine screening, especially for those living in endemic areas, and educating the public about the broader spectrum of symptoms and conditions that could be linked to tick-borne illnesses.
The podcast episode concludes with Nicole’s advocacy for comprehensive and regular screening, not just in symptomatic individuals, but also as a preventive measure. She highlights the potential effectiveness of herbal treatments in both acute and chronic stages of tick-borne diseases and stresses the need for heightened awareness and better diagnostic standards to change the current landscape.
Vector-Borne Diseases: Topics
00:00 Introduction to the Health Detective Podcast
01:34 Guest Introduction: Nicole Bell
02:27 Nicole’s Husband’s Health Journey
04:11 The Misdiagnosis and Struggle for Answers
06:44 The Turning Point: Correct Diagnosis
07:25 The Role of Functional Medicine
10:57 The Importance of Early Diagnosis
15:08 Galaxy Diagnostics: Mission and Technology
20:42 When to Test for Lyme and Co-Infections
28:16 Case Report and Biochemical Mechanisms
28:45 Dementia and Pathogen Research
29:21 General Symptoms and Tick-Borne Illness
29:56 Personal Experience with Lyme Disease
31:14 Testing and Diagnosis Challenges
32:32 Direct to Consumer Testing
39:19 Prevention and Control Measures
46:01 Herbal vs. Antibiotic Treatments
48:28 Final Thoughts and Recommendations
Where to Find Nicole Bell
Go to our Health Detective Podcasts for more informational and functional health-oriented podcasts like this one.
The Health Detective Podcast by Functional Diagnostic Nutrition, hosted by Evan Transue (Detective Ev) focuses on Jennifer Hill, a guest who exemplifies the transformative power of the FDN philosophy. Jennifer’s journey began when she attended an FDN in-person talk to support a friend. She ended up working with Evan and his wife, embarking on a dietary change that significantly improved her health, including increased energy levels, weight loss, and improved overall wellbeing.
This episode underscores the effectiveness of targeted dietary changes and highlights Jennifer’s transition to becoming an FDN practitioner herself. She now helps her clients achieve similar transformations, primarily using food sensitivity testing. The podcast emphasizes that even small, focused changes can lead to substantial health improvements.
Jennifer’s approach combines practical dietary guidelines with personalized assessments, empowering her clients to make lasting, meaningful health changes. The conversation also touches on the broader implications of personalized diet and lifestyle adjustments, offering valuable insights into sustainable health practices, one being, ceasing the use of gluten and seed oils.
Tired, Bloated & Gaining Weight: Topics
00:00 Introduction to the Health Detective Podcast
00:49 Meet Jennifer: From Audience Member to FDN Practitioner
02:36 Jennifer’s Health Journey and Initial Results
06:12 The Impact of Dietary Changes
14:13 Jennifer’s Experience with the FDN Course
21:45 Building a Lifestyle Business
23:32 Discovering New Clients and Group Programs
24:15 The Impact of Simple Dietary Changes
26:01 Navigating Client Expectations and Testing
29:13 Success Stories and Overcoming Imposter Syndrome
36:44 The Importance of Listening to Your Body
44:55 Promoting a Healthier Lifestyle
47:19 Final Thoughts and Key Takeaways
Where to Find Jennifer Hill
Go to our Health Detective Podcasts for more informational and functional health-oriented podcasts like this one.
The leading risk factor for death in the United States is the American diet.
About a decade ago, the American Heart Association (AHA) expressed concern that its “2020 target of improving cardiovascular health by 20% by 2020 will not be reached if current trends continue.” By 2006, most people were already not smoking and had nearly achieved their goal for exercise. But when it came to healthy diet score, only about 1 percent got a 4 or 5 out of its diet quality score of 0 to 5, as you can see below and at 0:35 in my video, Friday Favorites: The Scientific Consensus on a Healthy Diet. And that’s with such “ideal” criteria as drinking less than four and a half cups of soda a week.
In the last decade, the AHA saw a bump in the prevalence of the ideal healthy diet score to about 1 percent of Americans reaching those kinds of basic criteria, but, given its “aggressive” goal of reaching a “20% target” by 2020, it hoped to turn that 1 percent into about 1.2 percent. (Really, as you can see here and at 1:01 in my video.)
So, how’d we do? According to the 2019 update, it seems we’ve slipped down to as low as one in a thousand, and American teens scored a big fat zero. No wonder, perhaps, that “for all mortality-based metrics, the US rank declined…to 27th or 28th among 34 OECD [industrialized] countries. Citizens living in countries with a substantially lower gross domestic product and health expenditure per capita…have lower mortality rates than those in the United States.” Slovenia, for example, beat the United States, ranking 24th in life expectancy. More recently, the United States’s life expectancy slipped further, down to 43rd in the world, although the United States spent the most ($3.0 trillion) on health care…”
What is the leading risk factor for death in the United States? As seen below and at 2:04 in my video, it is the standard American diet. Those trillions in health care spending aren’t addressing the root cause of disease, disability, and death.
Here are some of the lung cancer death curves, below and at 2:08 in my video:
It took decades to finally turn the corner, but it’s so nice to finally see those drops. When will we see the same with diet?
“Approximately 80% of chronic disease and premature death could be prevented by not smoking, being physically active, and adhering to a healthful dietary pattern.” What exactly is meant by “healthy diet”? “Unfortunately, media messages surrounding nutrition are often inconsistent, confusing, and do not enable the public to make positive changes in health behaviors….Certainly, there is pressure within today’s competitive journalism market for sensationalism. There may even be a disincentive to present the facts in the context of the total body of information consumers need to act on dietary recommendations.” And there’s an incentive to sell more magazines and newspapers. The paper I’m quoting was written in 1997, before the lure of clickbait headlines. In fact, about three-quarters of a century ago, it was noted: “It is unfortunate that the subject of nutrition seems to have a special appeal to the credulous, the social zealot and, in the commercial field, the unscrupulous….The combination is one calculated to strike despair in the hearts of the sober, objective scientist.”
Indeed, the most important health care problem we face may be “our poor lifestyle choices based on misinformation.” It is like the climate change deniers: “Analogous to outspoken cynics denying climate change and influencing public opinion, healthy lifestyle and dietary advice are overshadowed by critics, diet books, the food industry, and misguided information in the media.” Maybe we need an entity like the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)—but for nutrition.
These days, “no single expert, regardless of academic stature or reputation, has the prominence to overcome the obstacles created by confusing media messages and deliver the fundamental principles of healthy living effectively to the public.”
What if there were “a global coalition consisting of a variety of nutrition experts, who collectively represent the views held by the majority of scientists, physicians, and health practitioners” that could “serve as the guiding resource of sound nutrition information for improved health and prevention of disease”?
Enter the True Health Initiative, which “was conceived for that very purpose.” A nonprofit coalition of hundreds of experts from dozens of countries has agreed to a consensus statement on the fundamentals of healthy living. See www.truehealthinitiative.org.
Spoiler alert: The healthiest diet is one generally comprised mostly of minimally processed plants.
If you’ve ever been stuck at the airport, starving and surrounded by processed convenience food, you know how tempting it can be to just grab whatever’s closest. But most airport and airplane food is ultra-processed, made with low-quality ingredients, is completely nuked, and not the kind of nourishment your body actually wants-especially when you’re already dealing with the stress of travel.
That’s why I always pack a bag full of clean, energizing, and stress-reducing essentials. I spend majority of my time traveling; on planes, at airports, on trains and even buses over the last sixteen years since starting The Earth Diet, so I’ve learned what are the most helpful staples that helped me stay nourished, hydrated, and calm on the road while away from home.
Think of your travel bag as a little sanctuary for your nervous system.
Here’s everything I packed and why it makes the cut:
1. Green Juice
I always drink a green juice before I even get to airport security – it sets the tone for my entire day. Either drink it before you leave your house, or on the road. Green juice is packed with vitamins, enzymes, and chlorophyll-rich greens that help hydrate and energize the body. It will help with keeping inflammation and dehydration away while you travel! One of the core principles of The Earth Diet is drinking a green juice daily for cellular nutrition and the powerful benefits of chlorophyll! At home, I use the Nama juicer to prepare it because it’s the best I’ve found for preserving nutrients.
With the Nama juicer, since it’s a cold-pressed juicer you can make a batch of four juices at a time and store them in your fridge in glass bottle jars.
Recipe for a batch of 4 juices:
• 1 batch celery • 4 cucumbers • 3 lemons, peeled • 4 inches of ginger • 1 cup broccoli sprouts • 1 cup spinach
(Optional: add apple, orange or pineapple if you want it sweet) Action: Just add all ingredients to the juicer and juice!
This is my secret weapon. I bring spicy turkey, beef, chicken and venison – literally every kind. Each stick has around 10g to 15g of clean protein and no weird ingredients. No nitrates, no soy, no fillers. Just real grass-fed and grass-finished beef, or free range turkey and chicken, or venison with a healthy seasoning. The seasoning is Redmond real salt which has over 60 trace minerals plus other superfoods including oregano and garlic. Having 2–3 of these is enough to skip any sad airport sandwich!
These are in every one of my books because they’re that good. Full of healthy fats, fiber, and natural sweetness, they totally satisfy any sweet craving without crashing your blood sugar. This will help prevent you from even looking at airport candy, because you’ll have your own that tastes way better in your very own bag! Natural sweets like this make you feel so good in the moment and leave you feeling incredible later too! Guilt free cookie dough balls… who’s in?
A little bit of dark chocolate made with real cacao goes a long way when you need a quick mood boost or something sweet without the crash. I always choose clean, high-quality chocolate with minimal organic ingredients like Fine & Raw.
Keeps me feeling fresh during travel, especially after meals or between flights. I choose gum that’s free of artificial sweeteners, plastics, or synthetic ingredients. No dementia causing aspartame in this gum!
Apricot seeds are a staple in my daily wellness routine! I always pack a few when I travel-they’re rich in vitamin B17 (also known as amygdalin), a compound studied for its potential immune-supporting, anti-inflammatory benefits and they cause cancerous cells to die. I eat 5-10 of these per day. These seeds have been used for decades as a natural remedy and are also a source of healthy fats and enzymes that support overall cellular health. A powerful little seed with a big impact.
This is basically liquid LIFE. I add a few drops to my water throughout the day for hydration, detox, and energy. Chlorophyll is structurally similar to hemoglobin, the molecule in our blood that carries oxygen which means it can help increase red blood cell production and oxygenate the body. It also supports healthy digestion, natural odor control, and may assist the body’s natural detox pathways by binding to toxins and heavy metals. Just a few drops makes your water work harder for you. It will keep your brain energized, truly is the most incredible natural energy drink that exists! This is also a great backup supplement to have to on days you are traveling or aren’t able to find a fresh green juice. Drink liquid chlorophyll once per day for the rest of your life and I promise it will change your life! But you cannot miss a day, try it for a year and then see how you are after one year.
This is a newer staple for me, and it’s incredible. I was waiting for years for this to come out after I researched how powerful consuming liquid gold (yes the same gold we wear as jewelry). It’s formulated to support the brain and nervous system, especially during high-stress travel moments like airport security, turbulence, or back-to-back flights. It’s known to be helpful for anxiety, depression and mental health. I spray it under my tongue before takeoff and anytime I feel my nervous system getting overwhelmed.
I never travel without herbal teas. Whether it’s calming chamomile, a digestive blend or ginger tea it helps keep our system balanced and soothed while in the air or on the road. Chamomile helps to calm your nervous system and even help you to sleep, while ginger will reduce inflammation and swelling.
I sprinkle this mineral-rich salt into water or onto food to stay mineralized and hydrated. Did you know the sea salt is a natural electrolyte? It makes such a difference when flying or switching time zones and will help your muscles stay relaxed and brain hydrated.
Use code LIANA for 15% off your next Redmond purchase.
12. Neses Hemp – CBDA oil
This is the only CBDA product I use. The difference between CBDA and CBD? CBDA (cannabidiolic acid) is the raw, unheated form of CBD found naturally in the hemp plant. It’s the precursor to CBD, meaning when CBDA is exposed to heat (like through drying, cooking, or processing), it converts into CBD. Unlike CBD, CBDA interacts differently with the body—especially with serotonin receptors—which may make it more effective for inflammation, nausea, and mood. It’s gaining attention for being more bioavailable and potentially more potent in smaller doses than CBD. Quite simply put, if you have been taking CBD you haven’t been able to full maximize the effects. Think of it as the “processed” form of hemp, it’s just not ideal.
CBDA, supports the endocannabinoid system by reducing inflammation, enhancing serotonin activity, and gently modulating receptors to restore balance without overstimulation. It basically activates healing, and we don’t talk about the endocannabinoid system enough!
CBDA is known for helping with physical pain, inflammation, arthritis, mood balance, hormone balance, better sleep, anxiety, depression, stress relief, digestive health and helps with immune function. It helps keep my nervous system calm when I’m running through airports or adjusting to new time zones. Total game-changer.
I spray this under my tongue before and after every flight. It helps support immune defense when you’re exposed to recycled airplane air.
All Sovereign Silver products (except the 64 ounce) Use code: EARTHDIET20 for 20% off at Sovereign Silver.com
Sovereign Silver, the 64 ounce bottle use code: EARTHDIET10 with this link for 10% off at Sovereign Silver2.com
Beauty Essentials
1. Dr. Bronner’s Lip Balm: Honestly, one of the most hydrating lip balms I’ve ever tried! Made with coconut oil.
2. Thrive Cosmetics Lip Tints: Clean fun color lip tints that lasts!
3. Adorn Cosmetics Illuminizer: I dab this on my cheeks before landing for that glowy, refreshed look. Natural makeup made in Australia.
These two come with me on every trip. The Bible keeps me spiritually grounded while traveling, and the eye mask helps me sleep wherever I am. This eye mask is nice and thick so it relaxes my face and eyes as soon as it’s on, and it’s got deep cut out eyes so it doesn’t squish my eye lashes. But I haven’t found an organic one yet, so I will wait to link that. I need to research for an eye mask made with organic materials that is also a deep cutout.
Also, the bag is from Mansur Gavriel — made of genuine leather. While it may seem like a splurge, I personally prefer investing in an elegant, high-quality and well-crafted piece like this over spending $2,000–$3,000 on a designer bag covered in loud branding, like Louis Vuitton. Timeless and more natural looking are my top choices.
It may seem like a lot-but everything in my bag has a purpose: to support my mind, body, and spirit while I’m on the move. Being prepared means I’m never at the mercy of junk food or low-vibe snacks again. I’ve lived this way for 16 years and it honestly feels so good to be so healthy and have energy! Praise God, I am so grateful. You can experience perfect health too when you follow the principles of the Earth Diet and live as naturally as possible in all areas of your life.
There is a reason the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention prohibits not only smoking but also scented or fragranced products in its buildings.
In a recent review entitled “Damaging Effects of Household Cleaning Products on the Lungs,” researchers noted: “Adverse respiratory effects of cleaning products were first observed in populations experiencing high levels of exposure at the workplace, such as cleaners and health-care workers, with a primary focus on asthma.” Occupational use of disinfectants has also been linked to a higher risk of developing chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, such as emphysema.
As I discuss in my video Friday Favorites: The Effects of Cleaning Products and Air Fresheners on Lung Function, we now know that, in addition to workplace exposures, “exposure to household cleaning products has also emerged as a risk factor for respiratory disorders in childhood,” as well potentially being “an important risk factor for adult asthma.” Common household cleaning spray use accounts for as many as one in seven adult asthma cases. The thought is that inhaling chemical irritants may cause injury to the airways, leading to oxidative stress and inflammation. What can we do about it?
Well, it may be limited to sprays. Researchers found that cleaning products that were not sprayed were not associated with asthma. It’s also possible that environmentally friendly cleaning products “may represent a safer alternative,” though they may still present some risk.
Ideally, safer cleaning products should be available. Unfortunately, the research suggesting harm has “seldom been heeded by manufacturers, vendors, and commercial cleaning companies.” I wonder how much of that is because “most of the workers exposed to cleaning products are women”—both occupationally and, perhaps, domestically.
One of the problems may be the fragrance chemicals. One in three Americans surveyed “reported health problems, such as migraine headaches and respiratory difficulties, when exposed to fragranced products.” And, for about half of them, the problems were so bad they actually lost work over it, either “workdays or a job due to fragranced product exposure in the workplace.”
“Results from this study reveal that over one-third of Americans suffer adverse health effects, such as respiratory difficulties and migraine headaches, from exposure to fragranced products. Of those individuals, half reported that the effects can be disabling. Yet over 99% of Americans are exposed to fragranced products at least once a week, from their own or others’ use.”
The effect on asthmatics may be even worse, affecting closer to two-thirds of Americans. One compound that may be of particular concern is called 1,4-dichlorobenzene, also known as para-dichlorobenzene, which is found in many air fresheners, toilet bowl deodorants, and mothballs. It breaks down in the body into a compound called 2,5-dichlorophenol, which we pee out, giving researchers a reliable measure of our dichlorobenzene exposure. Not only may it make respiratory problems worse for those already suffering from compromised airways, but exposure to dichlorobenzene “at [blood] levels found in the U.S. general population, may result in reduced pulmonary [lung] function” in people who start out with normal breathing. What’s worse, higher exposures “were associated with greater prevalence of CVD [cardiovascular disease] and all cancers combined,” another reason to avoid it. We’d better read labels, right?
Surprisingly, “no law in the US requires the disclosure of all ingredients in fragranced consumer products.” In fact, for laundry supplies, cleaning products, and air fresheners, manufacturers “do not need to list the presence of a ‘fragrance’ on either the label or MSDS,” the material safety data sheet. We won’t know until we smell it.
I support the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s ban. Not only is “the use of tobacco products (including cigarettes, cigars, pipes, smokeless tobacco, or other tobacco products)…prohibited at all times,” but “scented or fragranced products are prohibited at all times in all interior space owned, rented, or leased by CDC.” I wish rideshare services like Uber and Lyft would have a similar policy. I’d even be happy with just a fragrance-free option. About one in five of more than a thousand Americans surveyed said they “would enter a business but then leave as quickly as possible if they smelled air fresheners or some fragranced product,” so it’s in the best interest of businesses, too. “Over 50% of the population would prefer that workplaces, health care facilities and professionals, hotels, and airplanes were fragrance-free.”
I have been asked by readers and friends what I think of the GLP-1 drugs for obesity – commonly called ‘fat jabs’ in the media. This note shares my current thoughts. I’m open to my thoughts evolving as we learn more about these drugs.
I’ll start with some background notes. This is the first Monday note where I have used ChatGPT for some of the research. I will let you know whenever I do this. ChapGPT cautions that “ChatGPT can make mistakes.” I found it useful to summarise research for parts of this note. E.g. “How many people have died on GLP-1 drugs (with references)?” You will be able to replicate the search by entering the exact phrase I used.
For the scale of what we’re talking about, approximately 4% of Americans were taking GLP-1 drugs in 2024 for either overweight, obesity or type 2 diabetes (Ref 1). Approximately 12% of Americans have tried a GLP-1, even if unaffordable (Ref 2). According to an article in the UK Times newspaper, 1.5 million people in the UK are taking these drugs (Ref 3). The Times article expressed concern that most people in the UK are obtaining the drugs from private clinics rather than following a face-to-face meeting with a doctor. It would be easy to exaggerate one’s weight or co-morbidities to get online approval for these powerful medications.
It’s Not Laziness, It’s Leptin features Josh Saint, an expert with over 20 years of experience in natural health, who helps people struggling with fatigue, weight gain, hormone, or emotional issues. Josh discusses his diverse background, including Functional Diagnostic Nutrition, bioenergetics, nutrition, chiropractic, and circadian biology, and how he combines these disciplines to address various health issues.
Josh shares his personal journey into the health space, which began when his wife got injured and they sought help from a chiropractor. This led him to pursue education in natural health and eventually become involved in various health disciplines. He experienced significant personal health challenges, including depression and fatigue, during a difficult period in his life, which motivated him to deepen his knowledge and tools in the health field. Josh emphasizes the importance of addressing not just physical health but also emotional and spiritual well-being.
The episode also delves into leptin resistance, a condition linked to metabolism and hunger regulation, and its broader implications on reproductive, immune, and thyroid health. Josh explains how lifestyle factors such as diet, light exposure, and sleep patterns affect leptin levels and overall health. He highlights the significance of love and connection in maintaining wellbeing and shares practical advice on fostering connections and understanding others. The episode concludes with Josh’s recommendation for everyone to get outside and see the sunrise every day to improve health.
It’s Not Laziness, It’s Leptin: Topics
00:00 Introduction to the Health Protective Podcast
00:47 Meet Josh Saint: A Journey in Natural Health
01:56 Josh’s Personal Health Journey
04:09 Discovering Functional Diagnostic Nutrition
08:20 Understanding Leptin: The Basics
10:05 Leptin Resistance and Its Implications
19:41 The Role of Light in Health and Hormones
24:37 Personal Struggles and Stress Management
26:17 The Vicious Cycle of Depression
27:45 The Importance of Love and Connection
31:10 Understanding Emotional and Physical Health
33:59 Practical Steps for Love and Connection
41:54 Client Success Stories
47:05 Final Thoughts and Signature Question
Where to Find Josh Saint
Go to our Health Detective Podcasts for more informational and functional health-oriented podcasts like this one.
We can raise BDNF levels in our brain by fasting and exercising, as well as by eating and avoiding certain foods.
There is accumulating evidence that brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) may be playing a role in human depression. BDNF controls the growth of new nerve cells. “So, low levels of this peptide could lead to an atrophy of specific brain areas such as the amygdala and the hippocampus, as it has been observed among depressed patients.” That may be one of the reasons that exercise is so good for our brains. Start an hour-a-day exercise regimen, and, within three months, there can be a quadrupling of BDNF release from our brain, as seen below and at 0:35 in my video How to Boost Brain BDNF Levels for Depression Treatment.
This makes sense. Any time we were desperate to catch prey (or desperate not to become prey ourselves), we needed to be cognitively sharp. So, when we’re fasting, exercising, or in a negative calorie balance, our brain starts churning out BDNF to make sure we’re firing on all cylinders. Of course, Big Pharma is eager to create drugs to mimic this effect, but is there any way to boost BDNF naturally? Yes, I just said it: fasting and exercising. Is there anything we can add to our diet to boost BDNF?
Higher intakes of dietary flavonoids appear to be protectively associated with symptoms of depression. The Harvard Nurses’ Health Study followed tens of thousands of women for years and found that those who were consuming the most flavonoids appeared to reduce their risk of becoming depressed. Flavonoids occur naturally in plants, so there’s a substantial amount in a variety of healthy foods. But how do we know the benefits are from the flavonoids and not just from eating more healthfully in general? We put it to the test.
Some fruits and vegetables have more flavonoids than others. As shown below and at 1:51 in my video, apples have more than apricots, plums more than peaches, red cabbage more than white, and kale more than cucumbers. Researchers randomized people into one of three groups: more high-flavonoid fruits and vegetables, more low-flavonoid fruits and vegetables, or no extra fruits and vegetables at all. After 18 weeks, only the high-flavonoid group got a significant boost in BDNF levels, which corresponded with an improvement in cognitive performance. The BDNF boost may help explain why each additional daily serving of fruits or vegetables is associated with a 3 percent decrease in the risk of depression.
What’s more, as seen here and at 2:27 in my video, a teaspoon a day of the spice turmeric may boost BNDF levels by more than 50 percent within a month. This is consistent with the other randomized controlled trials that have so far been done.
Nuts may help, too. In the PREDIMED study, where people were randomized to receive weekly batches of nuts or extra-virgin olive oil, the nut group lowered their risk of having low BDNF levels by 78 percent, as shown below and at 2:46.
And BDNF is not implicated only in depression, but schizophrenia. When individuals with schizophrenia underwent a 12-week exercise program, they got a significant boost in their BDNF levels, which led the researchers to “suggest that exercise-induced modulation of BDNF may play an important role in developing non-pharmacological treatment for chronic schizophrenic patients.”
What about schizophrenia symptoms? Thirty individuals with schizophrenia were randomized to ramp up to 40 minutes of aerobic exercise three times a week or not, and there did appear to be an improvement in psychiatric symptoms, such as hallucinations, as well as an increase in their quality of life, with exercise. In fact, researchers could actually visualize what happened in their brains. Loss of brain volume in a certain region appears to be a feature of schizophrenia, but 30 minutes of exercise, three times a week, resulted in an increase of up to 20 percent in the size of that region within three months, as seen here and at 3:46 in my video.
Caloric restriction may also increase BDNF levels in people with schizophrenia. So, researchers didn’t just have study participants eat less, but more healthfully, too—less saturated fat and sugar, and more fruits and veggies. The study was like the Soviet fasting trials for schizophrenia that reported truly unbelievable results, supposedly restoring people to function, and described fasting as “an unparalleled achievement in the treatment of schizophrenia”—but part of the problem is that the diagnostic system the Soviets used is completely different than ours, making any results hard to interpret. There was a subgroup that seemed to correspond to the Western definition, but they still reported 40 to 60 percent improvement rates from fasting, but fasting wasn’t all they did. After the participants fasted for up to a month, they were put on a meat- and egg-free diet. So, when the researchers reported these remarkable effects even years later, they were for those individuals who stuck with the meat- and egg-free diet. Evidently, the closer the diet was followed, the better the effect, and those who broke the diet relapsed. The researchers noted: “Not all patients can remain vegetarian, but they must not take meat for at least six months, and then in very small portions.” We know from randomized controlled trials that simply eschewing meat and eggs can improve mental states within just two weeks, so it’s hard to know what role fasting itself played in the reported improvements.
A single high-fat meal can drop BDNF levels within hours of consumption, and we can prove it’s the fat itself by seeing the same result after injecting fat straight into our veins. Perhaps that helps explain why increased consumption of saturated fats in a high-fat diet may contribute to brain dysfunction—that is, neurodegenerative diseases, long-term memory loss, and cognitive impairment. It may also help explain why the standard American diet has been linked to a higher risk of depression, as dietary factors modulate the levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor.
What if the very hormone designed to help you survive is actually the reason you’re struggling to thrive?
My mother relentlessly saved and sacrificed so that she could enjoy her life in retirement. But two years into retirement, she was diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer’s.
Here’s what I’ve learned since becoming a Functional Diagnostic Nutrition Practitioner: she didn’t just “get” Alzheimer’s two years after retirement. It was building and building for years before that. She was making it worse with lifestyle choices: the over-exercising that women in their 40s and 50s often do, eating trans fats during the low-fat craze of the 80s and 90s.
Had I known what I know now, her outcome might have been different.
This is why I’m passionate about functional health. This is why thousands of practitioners are learning to identify and address the root causes of dysfunction before they become disease. If we can reach people in that gray space (when things are out of balance but before they become diagnosable conditions), we can change their trajectory. We can save lives.
As functional health practitioners, we see it every day: clients who’ve tried everything, followed every protocol, cleaned up their diet, and taken all the right supplements, yet they’re still stuck in that frustrating place of “I’m okay, but I’m not great.”
The missing piece? Understanding cortisol and its profound impact on every system in the body.
If you’ve ever wondered why some clients get amazing results while others plateau, or why you yourself might be experiencing symptoms that doctors dismiss as “normal aging,” this deep dive into cortisol will change everything.
What Is Wellness, Really?
Before we dive into cortisol, let’s get clear on what we’re actually working toward. At FDN, we don’t believe in “fine” or “okay.” We believe in abundant vitality.
Picture this as a spectrum:
The Right Side (The Medical Model): Symptoms → Sickness → Disease → Death
The Middle (Neutral Health): No symptoms, but no energy either. This is the “I’m fine, I guess” zone where most people live.
The Left Side (True Wellness): High energy, optimal function, metabolic fire, abundant vitality, joy for life.
Here’s the thing: neutral health equals a neutral life. When you’re operating from “I’m okay, I don’t have any complaints,” you’re not building empires, writing books, raising joyful kids, or showing up as your best self in relationships.
Good health, abundant vitality, is your birthright. It’s not just for the lucky few.
The Body’s Incredible Healing Power (And What’s Limiting It)
Your body is a self-healing machine. You know this because when you get a cut, it heals. When you break a bone, it mends. When you catch a cold, you recover.
But this healing ability isn’t infinite. If it were, we’d never age or die.
So what’s the difference between what your body can heal and what it can’t?
It’s a savings versus spending problem.
Think of your body as having a bank account called “Vital Reserve.” This is your innate intelligence: your body’s natural ability to function at 100% and fix imbalances before they become problems.
Where do you spend this precious currency? On your environment.
This has always been the case. Our paleolithic ancestors spent their Vital Reserve on not knowing if food would be available, dealing with harsh weather, avoiding predators, and navigating tribal conflicts.
Today? We spend it on mental-emotional stress, environmental toxins, and poor lifestyle habits that are constantly draining our account.
The main spender of Vital Reserve is stress.
The Modern Stress Problem: It’s Not What You Think
When most people think of stress, they picture this: work deadlines, traffic, relationship conflicts, financial pressure. And yes, these mental-emotional stressors are huge.
But there are two other categories most people completely miss:
Physical Stressors:
Sitting too long
Blue light exposure from screens
Too much coffee
Not exercising enough (or exercising too much)
Needing wine to fall asleep
Poor sleep quality
Environmental Stressors:
Depleted soils
EMF exposure
Chemicals in food, water, and air
Toxins our paleolithic ancestors never encountered
Plus, there’s the existential stress of modern life: What’s my purpose? How do I make my life meaningful when I’ll likely be forgotten in 100 years?
All of these are constantly withdrawing from your Vital Reserve account.
Meet Cortisol: Your Body’s “Energy on Credit” System
Cortisol is your primary stress hormone, and it’s actually designed to help you survive. When your environment throws stressors at you, cortisol says, “We need to put internal spending on hold and take all available resources to deal with this external threat.”
Cortisol breaks the body down for quick energy. We call this “catabolic.”
Why would your body have a mechanism for breaking itself down? Because sometimes you need energy RIGHT NOW. When your boss says, “This project is actually due in 30 minutes,” you can’t drive to the store, buy food, cook it, eat it, digest it, and then produce energy. You need quick fuel immediately.
So cortisol reaches for easy-to-break-down tissues like cartilage, tendons, connective tissue, and muscle, converting them to blood sugar.
Here’s the kicker: Cortisol is also a natural painkiller and anti-inflammatory. It masks the damage it’s doing, which is why it makes you feel amazing in the moment: clear thinking, quick reactions, pain-free movement.
Think of cortisol as your body’s credit card. You’re borrowing energy now and promising to pay it back later through rest, recovery, and healing.
When “Energy on Credit” Becomes a Problem
Throughout history, humans dealt with stress that was intense but occasional and short-lived. A wild animal attack, a natural disaster, a tribal conflict: these were serious but temporary.
Take a moment to think about this: Does this describe the stress in your life?
For most of us, stress is intense, constant, and never-ending. We wake up stressed, work stressed, drive home stressed, and lie in bed stressed about tomorrow’s stress.
This creates what we call “catabolic debt”: you’re constantly running up charges on your cortisol credit card without ever paying it back.
Chronic stress is not within our biological design.
Consider this: Anthropological studies show paleolithic humans worked only 15-20 hours per week. How many of you work only 15-20 hours per week? (And remember, “work” includes housework, childcare, and all the other responsibilities that don’t stop when you leave the office.)
They lived in close communities with cooperative resource sharing and had each other’s backs. Think about your own life: Do you know your neighbors? If you do, would they really have your back if things got serious?
Most of us are duplicating resources instead of sharing them. We’re all figuring out our own childcare, making our own meals, maintaining our own everything. There’s no interdependence, no shared load.
The cost of modern life is enormous:
70-80% of doctor visits are for stress-related illnesses
People with high anxiety are 4-5 times more likely to die from heart attack or stroke
Stress contributes to 50% of all illnesses
The Stress Response Curve: Your Roadmap to Understanding Where You Are
This is where it gets really interesting. Understanding this curve will change how you see your health (and your clients’ health) forever.
We all start in the green zone: Homeostasis. When you experience occasional stressors, cortisol and adrenaline spike, you handle the situation, then return to baseline to rest and repair.
But when stress becomes chronic, you move into the orange zone: Acute Stress. You’re constantly producing cortisol and adrenaline, never returning to homeostasis.
Here’s the thing: on your way up this curve, you feel AMAZING. Remember when you could pull all-nighters and still ace exams? When you could eat junk food without consequences? When you had laser focus for 12-16 hours straight?
That’s the acute phase. You’re running on cortisol, and it feels like superpowers.
Then you hit Peak Production. Your body says, “We’ve put way too much on the cortisol credit card. We have to cut back.”
Now you fall into the Compensatory Phase. Your cortisol numbers might look normal to a doctor, but the distribution is all wrong. Maybe you have too much in the morning and crash by afternoon, or you spike at night and can’t sleep.
Plus, you have a relativity problem. You’re used to feeling like Superman from the acute phase, so normal cortisol levels feel terrible by comparison.
Continue down this path, and you reach the Exhaustive Phase. Like a phone on low battery mode, everything still works but at 30% capacity and not for long. You’re devoting everything to just getting through the day.
The Hidden Cost: What Happens to Your Body’s Core Systems
At FDN, we focus on six foundational systems that chronic stress systematically shuts down. We call them the H-I-D-D-E-N systems, and understanding what happens to each one under chronic stress is crucial for practitioners:
H – Hormones DHEA is your anabolic hormone: the one responsible for building you back up after cortisol breaks you down. This is how you pay off your cortisol credit card. But when stress is constant, DHEA steps back and says, “I’ll come back when it’s safe to focus internally, but right now we need to keep spending on the environment.” DHEA becomes chronically low, which means your healing potential becomes chronically low.
Then sex hormones get the message: “We don’t have enough resources to fund fertility right now.” Sex hormones plummet, taking motivation and joy for life with them. This is when you get to that neutral state where you’re thinking, “I have dreams I want to pursue, but it’s just too much effort. I’ll just watch Netflix instead.”
I – Immune Your immune system is expensive to run. Under chronic stress, it says, “I cost a ton of money, so I’m going to operate at 30% capacity and not for very long.” Now you’re getting sick often, it takes forever to heal, you can’t shake that cough, and if anyone around you is sick, you know you’re going down.
D – Digestion Digestion costs a lot of energy to function properly. When you’re spending everything on stress, digestion goes into low-power mode. Now you’re only digesting at 30% capacity. Even if you’re eating the cleanest diet in the world, you can’t use it. You’re not getting the building blocks to repair or the nutrients your body needs to power metabolic functions at full capacity.
D – Detoxification Detoxification is another huge system that’s expensive to run. When your body’s bank account is overdrawn from cortisol debt, detox says, “I don’t have enough money to find these toxins, bind them up, and effectively remove them. So I’ll put them in storage instead.” Your body shoves toxins into fat cells, brain tissue, and bones, creating a toxic backlog that makes you feel slow, gives you acne, throws off digestion, and impairs hormone production.
E – Energy Production Your mitochondria can’t function optimally when all resources are diverted to stress response. This leads to that “tired but wired” feeling where you’re exhausted but can’t actually rest.
N – Nervous System Sleep, mood, and cognitive function all suffer. This is where we see the brain fog, insomnia, anxiety, and depression that so many people struggle with.
The fundamental principle of FDN: These systems don’t operate in isolation. You can’t just say, “Oh, you have classic hormone symptoms, so let’s run a hormone test.” You miss immunity, digestion, detoxification: all the other systems contributing to what we call “Metabolic Chaos.”
This is why the “take this supplement for that symptom” approach rarely works long-term. You’re not dealing with isolated problems: you’re dealing with systemic dysfunction where multiple systems are compromised simultaneously.
Real-Life Case Studies: The Stress Curve in Action
Let’s look at three real clients to see how this plays out. As FDN practitioners, we use what we call “clinical correlation,” which means we never look at lab numbers in isolation. We always consider how someone feels alongside their test results.
Case Study 1: Adam – The Acute Phase Crash
Profile: 35-year-old male, broker at a mid-size investment firm, former athlete still crushing CrossFit workouts
Symptoms: Weight gain, trouble concentrating, loss of muscle mass despite rigorous workouts, headaches
Doctor’s Assessment: “Your results are unremarkable. This is normal aging.”
Lab Results:
Cortisol sum: 9 (acute phase)
Four-point pattern: Way too high in morning, drops low at noon, crashes severely in afternoon, bounces back up at night
The Reality: How do we know Adam isn’t on the left side of the stress curve going up into acute phase? His symptoms tell us everything. If he were on the way up, he’d feel amazing and wouldn’t be in our office. Instead, he’s on the right side coming down from peak production.
His cortisol pattern explains everything: sky-high morning cortisol makes him feel wired and anxious, the afternoon crash leaves him unable to concentrate (not ideal for an investment broker), and the nighttime spike disrupts his sleep.
Even though his DHEA looks “normal,” when we compare it to his cortisol level of 9, he’s clearly catabolic dominant. He’s breaking down faster than he’s building up, which explains why his intense CrossFit sessions aren’t building muscle: they’re just adding more stress to an already overloaded system.
The Reality: Caitlyn’s cortisol sum looks normal, but the distribution is completely dysfunctional. She can barely drag herself out of bed in the morning, crashes hard in the afternoon (imagine trying to accurately record legal proceedings when your cortisol is plummeting), and lies awake at night because her cortisol spikes just when it should be lowest.
She also has a relativity problem. When she was in the acute phase, she felt like Superman. Now that she’s in compensatory with “normal” cortisol levels, she feels terrible by comparison. Her DHEA is low, confirming she’s still in catabolic debt despite the lower cortisol numbers.
Case Study 3: Maggie – The Exhaustive Phase Crisis
Profile: 43-year-old chef at a popular five-star restaurant, diagnosed with hypothyroid
Symptoms: Weight gain in hips and belly, trouble keeping up at work, depression, irregular menstrual cycle
Lifestyle: Working 60+ hours per week, consistently sleeping only 5 hours per night
Medical Status: Seeing a counselor, considering antidepressant medication
Lab Results:
Cortisol sum: 3.1 (exhaustive phase)
Four-point pattern: Way too low in morning, drops low at noon, slight bounce in afternoon, drops again at night
DHEA: Very low
Clinical correlation: Still catabolic dominant despite low cortisol
The Reality: Maggie’s body is operating like a phone on low battery mode: everything still works, but at 30% capacity and not for long. Her thyroid has downregulated because there’s literally not enough energy in the system to maintain normal function.
The depression isn’t just psychological: it’s physiological. Her body can’t afford to fund optimal brain function. Even though her cortisol is very low and her DHEA is very low, she’s still cortisol dominant and in catabolic debt.
This is why understanding the stress curve is so crucial. Three people, three different phases, three different approaches needed.
The Path Forward: Why Understanding Cortisol Changes Everything
Here’s why this matters for you as a health practitioner:
1. It explains why some clients plateau. If you’re not addressing the stress component, you’ll hit a ceiling on healing no matter how perfect the diet or supplement protocol.
2. It validates your clients’ experiences. When someone says, “I used to be able to handle so much more,” or “I don’t feel like myself anymore,” you now understand the physiology behind it.
3. It gives you a roadmap for intervention. Different phases require different approaches. Someone in the acute phase needs different support than someone in the exhaustive phase.
4. It highlights the importance of comprehensive testing. A single cortisol measurement tells you almost nothing. You need the full pattern plus clinical correlation.
The FDN Approach: Test, Don’t Guess
At FDN, we don’t just talk about stress: we measure it. We use what we call “clinical correlation,” which means we never look at lab numbers in isolation. We always consider how someone feels alongside their test results.
We look at:
Four-point cortisol patterns throughout the day (not just a single measurement)
DHEA levels and the cortisol-to-DHEA ratio
How stress is affecting all the H-I-D-D-E-N systems
The complete picture of metabolic chaos
Progress tracking with tools like the Metabolic Chaos Scorecard
Then we address it systematically through our DRESS protocol:
D – Diet: Personalized nutrition based on lab findings, not generic “healthy eating” advice
R – Rest: Sleep optimization and recovery strategies tailored to your stress phase
E – Exercise: Right-sized movement for your current capacity (over-exercise is just as harmful as under-exercise)
S – Stress Reduction: Targeted techniques for your specific stressors: mental/emotional, physical, environmental, and lifestyle factors
S – Supplementation: Targeted support based on actual lab results, not guesswork
This isn’t about generic protocols. It’s about understanding exactly where someone is on the stress curve and what their body needs to heal.
Key Takeaways for Health Practitioners
Cortisol isn’t the enemy. A lot of people talk about cortisol as if it’s the villain—commercials make it sound like cortisol just makes you “old and fat.” That’s not what cortisol does. Cortisol is a vital hormone for navigating stress. The problem is chronic stress disrupting its natural rhythm.
Understanding the stress curve is diagnostic gold. It explains why clients feel the way they do and gives you a framework for intervention. Different phases require different approaches.
Clinical correlation is everything. You can’t just look at lab numbers in isolation. A cortisol sum of 5 might be “normal” to a doctor, but if your client feels terrible and the distribution is dysregulated, that tells you the real story.
You can’t ignore stress and expect lasting results. No matter how perfect your diet protocol or how targeted your supplements, chronic stress will cap healing potential. There’s a ceiling you’ll never break through if you don’t address the stress component.
The body’s systems are interconnected. You can’t just “fix hormones” without addressing how stress is affecting immunity, digestion, detoxification, and all the other H-I-D-D-E-N systems. This is why comprehensive testing and systematic protocols are crucial.
Metabolic Chaos requires a systematic approach. When multiple systems are compromised simultaneously, you need a framework like DRESS that addresses all aspects of healing, not just isolated symptoms.
Your Next Steps
If you’re ready to master functional lab testing and learn how to identify and address cortisol dysregulation in your practice, FDN provides the training, community, and ongoing support you need.
Because here’s the truth: your clients deserve more than “fine.” They deserve abundant vitality. And you deserve the confidence that comes from knowing exactly how to help them achieve it.
When you understand cortisol (really understand it), you hold the key to unlocking transformation for every client who walks through your door.
Ready to become the practitioner who always knows what to do next?
The answer lies in data-driven functional health. The answer lies in understanding that robust health isn’t just about the absence of symptoms: it’s about the presence of vitality.
And it starts with the hormone you can’t ignore: cortisol.
Want to learn more about becoming a Functional Diagnostic Nutrition Practitioner?
Discover how our comprehensive training program gives you the tools to master cortisol testing, interpretation, and protocols that get results. Because when you know how to test, you never have to guess. View an indepth case study here.
