Menopause officially kicks in 12 months after your last period, but before you pop the champagne, there’s perimenopause—the seemingly endless pregame where your body decides to throw a hormone-fueled rave.

If you search "diet and menopause," you'll find countless websites offering guidance. Let's face it, this transition period for women sucks and comes with endless unsavory symptoms. As someone currently going through it, I know this all too well. It's completely normal to desperately search for that “one hit wonder” that can make it all better. Whether it's a magic pill, a superfood, or a must-follow diet, the allure is hard to resist. Even as a highly qualified culinary and nutrition professional, I've been sucked in. My current body feels foreign to me!

From March 13 until April 18, 2020, I battled a severe case of COVID. During that time, I turned 51 years young! Illness can change your body in unexpected ways. For five long weeks, incessant fevers, severe night sweats, breathing trouble, and a host of other symptoms left me with a diminished appetite and overwhelming emotional stress. As a petite, athletic woman, I worried about losing too much weight. How wrong I was.

According to the National Institute of Health, autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a complex neurological and developmental condition affecting various aspects of life, including communication, social interaction, learning, and behavior. Despite being diagnosable at any age, symptoms typically manifest within the first two years of life.

Let’s face it, nutrition science may not always be the most thrilling topic, but even a small dose of nourishment insight can yield tremendous benefits. How do we transform essential knowledge into valued wisdom for our children with the aim of revolutionizing their relationship with food?

In the heart of my upbringing there was one constant: healthy food. It was not just sustenance, it was nourishment. While chaos often reigned in my childhood home, the kitchen was where my mother and I could connect around the simplicities of cooking, a place to be creative where expression was safe. Cooking alongside my mom was and still is a joyful experience, a time when I feel our connection and bond.

In 2012, a dedicated team of researchers at Novo Nordisk unveiled semaglutide, conceived as a longer-acting alternative for diabetes therapy and subsequently branded as Ozempic. In 2017 Ozempic secured approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, not as a weight-loss miracle, but rather as a supportive aid alongside diet and exercise, specifically targeting individuals grappling with type 2 diabetes. Today, headlines read, “Surge in Fake Ozempic Reveals Dark Side of Weight Loss Frenzy.” So is this drug and its copycats a panacea or a poison?

Over half of the world's adults are actively seeking to lose weight, driving the global weight loss and weight management market to a value of $224.27 billion in 2021. Projections indicate a staggering growth trajectory, with expectations to exceed $405.4 billion by 2030. Clearly as a society we’re not succeeding when it comes to weight loss. Why not, and what can we do about it?

Although real weight concerns were never my challenge, as a teenager and young adult I deeply struggled with my general health, both physical and mental, including body image issues and eating disorders. As a child I had endured an unspeakable violation that shattered my innocence and left me carrying a lifetime of pain. Feeling like a constant burden to my parents, concealing my suffering became second nature. The impact of these traumatic events took its toll.

Around the turn of the millennium, three prominent books emerged as authoritative guides on the subject of nourishing children—Ellyn Satter's "Child of Mine" and "Secrets of Feeding a Healthy Family." Satter, a trailblazer in the field, delved into the realms of emotional well-being and fostering positive familial connections in the context of food, eating, and feeding. Furthermore, Walter Wilkoff's "Coping with a Picky Eater" provided a concise and pragmatic handbook, supplying practical solutions for both children and their caregivers in the realm of food.

Helping families navigate the challenges of picky eating, I've discovered that empathy and compassion are essential ingredients in fostering positive change. It’s not just about coaxing the picky eater to try new foods rather it's about understanding their narrative first and foremost which always offers invaluable insight into the why. Once that’s sorted through, here are five key strategies that I've used personally and use in practice.

Navigating my son Hunter’s picky eating journey hasn't been a smooth road. It began with a labyrinth of medical complexities, sensory sensitivities, and developmental delays. For the first several years of his life, I was on a relentless quest for answers, battling through what felt like an impossible maze of challenges. Tremendous frustration and self-doubt was smothering. I carried the weight of trying to be both a supermom and a nutrition expert.

Navigating the intricate web of my love-hate (mostly hate) relationship with social media becomes particularly evident as I delve into Instagram feeds (Tik Tok, not my thing). Dietary directives, casually dispensed by influencers lacking credible expertise, punctuate the feed. The notion that personal experience, genuine or potentially contrived, automatically qualifies one as an expert is a shaky premise.

In the realm of resilience, I've lived the better part of my life with illness, making me intimately acquainted with the patient journey. Navigating the labyrinth of healthcare, constructing robust care teams, and championing overall well-being – I haven't just been through it; I've mastered it. My journey isn't just personal; it's a beacon that guides and informs those I have the honor and pleasure of reaching. Every challenge becomes a lesson, and I wield these experiences to empower others on their journey.

When consulting a doctor or other healthcare provider, whether for wellness or illness, always remember that you are essentially interviewing them for a crucial role. The presence of an MD (or other letters) after their name doesn't automatically qualify them to meet your needs. You are the CEO of your health, empowered to curate a team that aligns with your individual requirements.

Brace yourselves for the holidays and the impending tsunami of "New Year, New You" hype. And, before jumping on the bandwagon of B.S. fad diets, let’s reality check. According to Forbes Health, "While many diet programs can be followed in a healthy way, fad diets, which are often marketed as a 'quick fix' for weight loss, are typically backed by little scientific evidence supporting their efficacy and safety."

Nearly 45 million Americans go on a diet each year. I think we can all agree that losing weight is a thing. What begs to be discussed, however, is why, even with so much dieting, America is the 12th most obese country in the world and when considering high-income countries, it’s number 1.

Some time ago, Jimmy Kimmel took it upon himself to quiz the gluten awareness of health enthusiasts with a Pedestrian Question, "Do you adhere to a gluten-free diet?" Then, "What is gluten?" The result? Astonishing. Almost everyone claimed to be "gluten-free," yet not a soul could articulate what gluten was or why they were religiously sticking to the restrictive regimen.

While there are multiple sources driving your food choices–from media to health “experts” to labeling, claims, and lingo—it’s what’s in your food and what’s being done to your food that really matters.

While co-teaching a five-day food and nutrition intensive, a student approached me in tears. “How do you eat anything knowing all that you know?” After a long pause, I offered, “Knowing what I know actually makes it easier. Then, educated choices are possible.” She was listening. “Picture a pitch-dark tunnel you must walk through. Do you want to do so with a flashlight or without?” She replied, “With a light of course.” I added, “Well, the tunnel is nourishment, do you want to make your food choices in the dark or with some light?”