Simple Nutrition Insights
Welcome to Simple Nutrition Insights, your practical guide to understanding nutrition in less than 30 minutes. Join us as we break down the science of healthy eating into digestible insights and actionable tips. Whether you're a busy parent or just short on time, our goal is to provide you with straightforward advice to enhance your well-being. Tune in for expert interviews, evidence-based advice, and quick, easy-to-implement strategies for nourishing your body and living your best life.
Simple Nutrition Insights
Empower Teen Mental Health Through Nutrition and Communication
Discover how to empower teenagers to manage their mental wellbeing through the power of nutrition and effective communication strategies. Join me, Leonila Campos, alongside seasoned therapist Xochitl Rodriguez, as we unravel the intricate interplay between ADHD, anxiety, and depression in teens. Learn how nutrition can serve as a first defense before resorting to medication, offering a holistic approach that combines diet and therapy for better mental health outcomes.
Gain practical insights on the crucial role of magnesium and carbohydrates in supporting cognitive function and mood in active teens. We dive into the importance of including magnesium-rich foods and balanced carbohydrates in daily meals, debunking misconceptions about ADHD, and equipping teenagers with the knowledge to navigate their mental health journey confidently. From portable snack ideas to understanding the impact of energy drinks, you'll find actionable tips to integrate into your family's routine.
This episode is a call to action for parents and teens alike, advocating for early intervention and education in both nutrition and mental health. Xochitl Rodriguez shares invaluable strategies for fostering communication and setting boundaries in today's digital age. Together, we aim to build a supportive community, encouraging future collaborations and continued conversations in mental wellness. Join us in this journey towards healthier lifestyles and discover how simple dietary changes can lead to profound impacts on teenage mental health.
Fueling Focus: Nutrition Tips for Managing ADHD
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Hey, hey, welcome back to another episode in the Simple Nutrition Insights Podcast. I am your host, leonila Campos, registered Dietitian, and today I have an amazing guest, xochitl Rodriguez, who is a therapist of 15 years of experience. So I'll let her, you know, tell us more about her experience and her journey as a therapist. But thank you so much, xochitl, for coming to talk to me, and I'm so excited to have you.
Speaker 2:I'm so glad that I found your podcast and I've been listening to it. It's so interesting. So, anyway, my name is Xochitl Rodriguez. I have been a therapist for 15 years and an educator too, so I've been in the school system. I'm not in the school system anymore, but mainly most of my clients are teenagers. So my private practice either grows or slows down depending on what I'm doing in my life.
Speaker 2:Right now I'm focusing on coaching parents to communicate with their teenagers. But one of the reasons I was so glad to found you and to be able to chat with you here today is because I do so in the mental health field, especially for teenagers. There's different diagnoses that I can give, but a lot of them, as I'm getting to know my clients ADHD, anxiety and depression they may look very similar. So with coaching the parents and we want to rule out some of these things a lot of questions come in what if it's ADHD, and what can we do nutritionally at home before putting their kids on medication for either of the diagnoses? So that's why I was so excited to be here and to discuss that with you, because I get that question asked a lot of the times and most of the times I have to refer my clients out or to talk to their primary care physician, which is not necessarily the best person sometimes to talk about nutrition, because that's not what they're trained on. So I wanted to ask you about that.
Speaker 2:How can I help my teenage clients nutritionally? Can I give them any recommendations, any supplements or any food they should want to eat or any food that they should avoid, to kind of rule out some of the ADHD diagnosis especially? That's? That's the one that I want to focus on, because the other ones are. I understand the other ones more, you know more deeply, but that's the one that I know it can help nutritionally if you make some changes. So thank you for having me here, luny absolutely.
Speaker 1:Thank you so much for coming, and I haven't had um a therapist come and talk about this topic in a specific, which is wonderful, so I'm excited to explore more that about that as well, and I'll definitely go over into, like nutrition, maybe the the role that nutrition has on these diagnoses right, but for our listeners that maybe have no idea what ADHD is, can you tell us more about it? You know how it's diagnosed or, like, what are the things that you look for as a therapist?
Speaker 2:Yes, I apologize. Yes, I forget. You're in a whole different role than me. But yeah, so, like I said, I'm in mental health field and ADHD is a tent.
Speaker 2:I know the, the, the, the letters, but I forget the name. It's attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder. So it means that kids cannot concentrate. They have a hard time just focusing on one specific task. Uh, they're moving with a hyper.
Speaker 2:It can be ADD, which is attention deficit disorder, which is just they cannot focus, Like I know my oldest. She's 18 now in college, and it was hard for her to do the homework. It's not that she couldn't comprehend, but a homework that would take anybody else 30 minutes, it will take her three hours just because she would zoom in and out from the task. And then there's also the aspect of hyperactivity, which is kids are very physically active but they cannot stay seated in one place. They're always interrupting people. So those are some of the symptoms of ADHD they're always interrupting.
Speaker 2:I have some of that too. So this is going to be for me too. It's hard for them to follow a conversation, but the time they ask a question and the person has not even finished the answer, they're already jumping into the next topic and things like that. So those that's AD, Now anxiety and depression. They come from four different aspects and different things, but a lot of it also, some of the symptoms, is also not being able to focus, not being able to concentrate and things like that. So that's why I want to kind of make this, you know, focus on ADHD, so we understand and we make some changes in nutrition so that we can rule some of these things out and really work on the mental health aspect of anxiety and depression, which could come from trauma, can come from life changes, transitions, situations, divorce, death and you know things like that. So that's background information.
Speaker 1:Yeah, thank you so much for sharing that, and I think it's so important as we think about teens, right, and just kids in general, having these and just having that support from a professional like yourself, right, and so, with that in mind, what are some of the challenges that you see for either these teens or your patients in general that live with it? What are some of the main challenges that you see for either these teens or, you know, your patients in general that live with it? What are some of the main challenges that they face?
Speaker 2:There's so much information. I love it that we have technology and now with the AI and things like that, medmd, and there's so much information out there. Sometimes People are skeptical about medication. There's so many recommendations for one thing and it can be another thing, and things like that. So I think the challenge which is great, having so much information but it's having the right information, and so I think that's one of the challenges that I see in my clients and not knowing where to start and sometimes medication is appropriate and sometimes it's not.
Speaker 2:When I was an educator and I was teaching elementary school, I could see a lot of the kids were being prescribed medication for ADHD, for the hyperactivity and the personality will completely change.
Speaker 2:So it's like is there anything in between that we can do, between not doing anything, changing some nutrition and then the medication to, kind of, you know, to see if the kids do actually need the medication?
Speaker 2:As a mom, I know for my story, like I said, my oldest is the one that suffers a little bit more from the ADD because she's not hyperactive. But I was very skeptical about medication and we did some changes that was recommended, but we're like I don't even know if this is the right thing. I know we implemented like green tea and things like that for focusing, but my daughter ended up needing that medication and she only did it for like three years and then she got out of it and she's fine. But so it's like I said, I want to be able to offer and to talk to my clients about what is in between before you jump into medication, because the medication does have side effects. The medication does have a lot of the kids end up not eating much food because the medication makes them not hungry. So I like I would like to have that discussion with my clients. Like, let's try this for three months, you know, do supplementation with nutrition and then, okay, if that doesn't work, let's let's try the medication for ADHD, if that's the diagnosis.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and I think it's so amazing to see that, as an educator, you are seeing, well, you were seeing that firsthand right, and just seeing that need and I can't imagine right like being able to say you know what. I think there's other ways to approach this right, different, in different ways too, and I also wanted to bring the point of the challenge that you mentioned, like having so much information, sometimes the parents not knowing what to do. Even though we have all this information, sometimes it's conflicting, sometimes it's like okay, this person, this one is telling me this and this one is telling me the opposite. As opposed to like going to the professional right, like going to a therapist, like yourself and like, yes, when you went to the school for it. Right, like why not use the professional resource? Versus, like you know, going maybe the easier route per se, like doing you know, googling it or whatever, yeah, and you end up more, more confused or confused and you try things that are you know they're not going to help, like I.
Speaker 2:I know a couple of years ago I had one client she was about 12 years old that the little girl having issues and things like that and the mom was like this one keto was a big deal, you know in the whole country. And she's like Do you think if I change her to keto that will make a difference? And I'm like I know what keto is and my daughter has type 1 diabetes, so I know we need carbohydrates because of the common sense, but it's like I don't know that it has anything to do with it. Like I really don't know.
Speaker 2:I do believe in wholesome nutrition and I'm getting older so I'm understanding a little bit more about my body, but not necessarily consulted with professionals for me. But again, my clients are the ones that sometimes they feel lost the parents and things like that and they get so much misinformation and because something is like a fad diet, I'm going to call it that. That's how I perceived it. I don't know what your professional opinion is on keto diet or any other diet like that. I believe in wholesome nutrition but, like I said, a lot of parents are because it's working for them to lose weight. They think it's going to work for something else.
Speaker 2:And you have find said that you find a lot of very conflicted information, because you can find information about the keto diet, how it's beneficial, and then you can find information about how the keto diet is not beneficial. Or, like I said, I see it firsthand with my daughter and it's like no, you need sugar to live and to think better and she performs better when she has a real good, balanced diet. But she's still a teenager, so we still struggle with that. But so it's going to the professional and in mental health I question a lot why do you not go to the professional? Or why did you come to me like a year ago, which is never too late, and I'm thinking it's the same thing with nutrition, you know, but it's knowing that the people actually studied this and actually understand how everything works, because I know that it's the same.
Speaker 2:you know we are what we eat. What is it exactly? What does that mean? You know so and you've studied that. So it's very important how all the chemicals I know hormonally and for me, like I said, but I want to understand it for my clients and what can we do to close that gap a little bit better and just in general, just in life, so that can help them just perform better and think better and things like that.
Speaker 1:Yeah, you're absolutely correct. Sometimes I ask I obviously don't tell my clients that, right, but I was like what? When they say oh, I tried all these diets and you're my final resort? And I'm like, oh my goodness, I should have been your first person and you have avoided all these other things, but sometimes it's not knowing right.
Speaker 1:And I still find it's so wild because I did a community presentation for a local company and I asked, you know, I introduced myself, right, start dietitian. And I asked and this is like a group of 40 people right now I asked, like does anybody know what a dietitian is? Nobody, not even one single person, except for the person that hired me to do the presentation, and I was like baffled. I was like, oh my goodness, like like nobody knows. But at least I had the opportunity to introduce myself and let 40 people know that, hey, this is what a dietitian is. Sometimes it is, you know, wild to see that.
Speaker 1:Even therapy, you know, I ask, you're correct, we definitely are in a way, while we eat, but sometimes we cannot do it alone, right?
Speaker 1:I do believe in therapy and I ask my clients all the time, you know, as I do a really comprehensive appointment. My appointments take an hour, sometimes too long, but because it really asks so many questions and I have to figure out the reasons and the challenges as to why we are here, right, and if they're struggling, I always ask you know, would it be, would it help if you see a therapist, right? Maybe they've thought about it. Maybe they've never thought about it or whatever, but it's something that I bring up all the time because we cannot, sometimes we cannot do this alone. So it's so important to you yeah, absolutely Go to the professional, not to wait right until you're like now, I really need it. You go when, when you don't think that you need it, because, as when you do need it, at least you have someone already working with you and it's not going to be like I'm in crisis, right, you already built that trust.
Speaker 2:And I think a lot of people don't make that connection Like food and nutrition has so much to do with your mental wellbeing, and so it takes it takes a while to kind of make that connection.
Speaker 2:A lot of people that are not maybe in your field or my field, they don't see that connection.
Speaker 2:Even people in my field we don't discuss nutrition sometimes and we know there's supplements and things like that, but it's like, oh yeah, it's either therapy or therapy and medication.
Speaker 2:It's like no, I truly believe there's a middle, like I said, because I've gone through my own journey, and so I want to close that gap for that middle for my clients with these teen kids that they already have so much going on in their lives, they have so much pressures, they have some self-image and things like that, that it's already difficult at this age. It's so confusing, and then I would like to give them the tools that they need to become better from the inside, mentally. Nutrition it's holistic, I think it's a whole person, but it's so important to match our two fields, nutrition and mental wellness, just so that we can work on the whole person, and I think there's something that we're missing there. Like I said, in my field. It's a lot of therapy and therapy or medication, and there's not that in-between of nutrition and so, especially teenagers, if we give them those tools right now, that's something that they're going to take for the rest of their lives.
Speaker 1:Yeah, absolutely. Thank you so much for bringing that awareness to nutrition and saying it has to be a holistic way of treating the patient or the client. Essentially that, and saying it has to be a holistic way of treating the patient or the client Essentially, that's how it has to be. We're not just like compartmentalized right, like it's not like just the brain and just focus on the brain right or just the stomach.
Speaker 1:We are a whole person. Right, we should be working and collaborating right and really helping our clients in so many other ways. So, yeah, to focus a little bit on nutrition, oftentimes what we almost have to. First of all, it's amazing that you're wanting to talk about these, right, and refer your patients out, because there is a deeper way of seeing, okay, how's the nutrition of this person? And sometimes we can just do a quick like 24 hour week goal. Essentially, anybody can do that.
Speaker 1:Let's see how your meals look like on a day-to-day basis and specifically with teens that they're still developing, right, they're still growing, their brains are still developing, and so as we look at these foods, right, and we and we see, well, they're skipping breakfast because they're not hungry, or they're skipping lunch, right, because they don't like the lunch that is served at school, and so they're coming home, um, to usually start having some snacks. Right, and I see these even with my patients that don't have any behavioral issues or any ADHD is that they come home so hungry. And I see that with my oldest too, when he doesn't have breakfast and then he doesn't have lunch because he doesn't like it. They come home so hungry. And then when we think about as adults. Right, if we see, okay, if we skip a meal, if we skip two meals, how is that going to affect our brains? Our brains use about 20% of the calories that we need. That's the calories that we need, right? About 20% of our energy needs have to come from to go to the brain.
Speaker 1:So if we're not fueling our brain. We're already, in a way, starving our brain, so that is going to affect how we are going to feel, or mood changes. Oftentimes, what comes to mind is being hungry, right, like you're angry because you're so hungry. Yeah, and imagine that you know to a teen where we're already having these hormonal changes, and like everything triggers them. So now we add the factor of like you're not eating, and so now you're super, duper hungry, right, right, because you have skipped all these meals. And then. So I think that's the very first thing that we have to look at, right, okay, how are you? How is your day-to-day in terms of your nutrition? Right, like, tell me about your breakfast, how about your lunch? And just even if it's just like an overview or a 24-hour overview, and that can tell you a lot, we're not eating enough. Right over skipping these meals, the more, the more meals that we skip, the less the opportunity to have more of these nutrients that our bodies need, which is going to be a vitamin d, or enough protein, enough carbohydrates for, as you mentioned, for energy. Right, so that would be the first thing. And then, if we're noticing as professionals, okay, we're not having breakfast, right, how can we incorporate something in the morning, right, that's where our day is going to start. Right? And I do have some clients, oftentimes teens, and they're like I don't want to eat, my stomach hurts, or I feel nervous and like I just don't feel like having anything. But they start to get hungry around 10 in the morning. How can we add a balanced snack at this time? Right? Either if it's even a string cheese and an apple, right, which is easy to transport and you can eat it from class to class, or maybe a handful of nuts and some pretzels, right, so, something that is going to also give you some nutrition if you're going from class to class, and then you'll have lunch. If you are not having lunch because you don't like it, then we have to figure out a way. So you take lunch to school, right, because we need this fuel, right for our brain, our brain function, but also for our growing bodies, right? So that would be the first thing If we think about specific, like the specific role and the specific function of our nutrients.
Speaker 1:Right, like our proteins, function of our nutrients right, like our proteins, our carbohydrates, our healthy fats, they all have specific functions in our bodies, right. So our carbohydrates, which are going to be our fruits, our starchy vegetables, like potatoes, peas and corn, our grains, right, pastas, tortillas, noodles, our cereals. They all have a specific function and those are our carbohydrates, which are our carbohydrates, which are for fuel, right, they're going to give us energy right away, which, while, we need what our brains need, right to start learning, right to concentrate and focus. And then we add our protein sources, like chicken, fish, egg, tofu, beans, lentils, legumes that are going to help us, obviously, with our cells, with our immunity, but also to help with satiety, right, we're not going to feel as hungry right away. So, when we pair the carbohydrates and the protein, right, we have more of the sustainable energy throughout the day, which is going to help our brain too, but also our energy throughout the day the day, which is going to help our brain too, but also our energy throughout the day. And then we have our healthy fats, like avocados, nuts, seeds, that are going to provide.
Speaker 1:And then we think about omega-3s from salmon or your fatty fish, that, specifically, omega-3s are for brain function, right. And so if we're not adding, when we think about these nutrients, if we are not adding them, we are deficient, right, because we have to get them from food. If we don't get them from food, then we might consider a supplement, but the first thing that we have to do is try to get them from food. If we're struggling, okay, let's add a supplement for the meantime, as we work on adding these foods more consistently. So omega-3s, specifically, are so important for our brain function, right?
Speaker 1:Omega-3s? You're going to find them in salmon, sardines, tuna, flax seeds, chia seeds, walnuts or omega-3 enriched eggs, and these are foods that we need at least three times a week, right. If we can add them on a daily basis, even better. But if we think about fish, which is going to give you the most amount of omega-3s, two times a week, right, okay. But if we are focusing more on the plant sources flaxseeds, chia seeds, walnuts you need them on a daily basis, right? Because you're getting them in a slower, in a smaller amount. So, on a daily basis.
Speaker 1:But, yeah, omega-3, again, it's going to support your brain health, improves focus and can also make. The research is still fairly new, right, but there is some research that shows that can reduce hyperactivity and impulsivity. Okay, we do need those omega-3. Again.
Speaker 1:They're they're essential fatty acids, which means that we need to get them from food or something very interesting, yeah, yeah, and oftentimes we, when I think about like the teens, right that come to see me there's no fish, there's no, there's no seeds, there's no walnuts, there's no eggs, because they're skipping breakfast. So we already are deficient in omega-3. So, okay, let's figure out a way to add these omega-3 supplements in some kind of way. We talked a little bit about protein, right? That helps with stabilizing blood sugars, improves neurotransmitter production, like dopamine. Supports sustained energy and focus. Supports sustained energy and focus.
Speaker 1:So adding, you know, our lean protein sources chicken, fish, eggs, dairy beans, lentils, tofu, our nuts also give a little bit of protein. So adding a variety of those as well. Mm-hmm. Iron is also essential for dopamine production, which, as you are the expert here, it plays a significant role in attention and focus. So low iron levels are linked to worsening those possible symptoms of AD, specifically for our female teens, right? So if they start their cycle already their cycle, yes and they're not getting enough iron, then they're most likely are going to be deficient.
Speaker 2:Where are some foods?
Speaker 1:reaching iron, yeah. So your red meats, right? Your spinach, your fortified cereals, your lentils, pumpkin seeds. We do want to pair these foods with vitamin C rich foods, because it helps to absorb better, and that could be like an orange or a bell pepper and just enhance the absorption of the iron in those foods specifically. Great, that's interesting, yeah.
Speaker 1:Another one that is also talked about in research is zinc. So zinc supports neurotransmitter regulation and may reduce hyperactivity as well. So zinc, you can find it in, again, your red meats, your chicken, your beans, chickpeas, nuts and seeds, oysters if someone likes oysters, you can find it there too. Yeah, but again, and you can see kind of a trend here, right, most of these foods, a lot of our teens are not adding them. These foods, a lot of our teens are not adding them.
Speaker 1:So if we think about, okay, and I can, and I'll make sure to send you, um, a list of these foods so you can have it and so parents, what parents can do and say, okay, let's try to add some of these foods, right, maybe, let's, let's add, let's find the common foods that have most of these nutrients and that's let's try to add them. Let's start with three times a week, right, see how that goes. And then let's increase you daily, and that way you're not only nourishing your brain, but you're nourishing your body, your growing body, as well another um another here, or nutrient is magnesium so the role.
Speaker 1:Role of magnesium right. It helps to calm the nervous system. It supports focus and may also reduce restlessness and irritability.
Speaker 2:Wow.
Speaker 1:Some of your high sources of magnesium are your dark leafy greens like spinach, arugula, kale, but you can also find it in almonds, cashews, whole grains and dark chocolate. So if you like dark chocolate, have some dark chocolate every day. Yeah. But magnesium has also been shown to help, just for the population in general. Right, we most likely are deficient in magnesium if we're not adding these foods, and magnesium has over 300 functions in our bodies. So if we are deficient, imagine all these 300 functions are going in a way be affected, and one of them is our brain right and also stress management and our ability to deal with anxiousness. So we want to make sure that we're adding these foods right On a daily basis.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I mean this is to me, as a mental health professional, this is so essential to just our general functioning and, like I said, we're not talking enough about the supplements and how to fuel our body, how to nourish our body for better mental wellness, like you're talking about.
Speaker 2:It's like well, that makes sense and that makes sense.
Speaker 2:But if we don't have the knowledge that we're not making that connection, I mean I cannot imagine what a big difference is going to be for my teenage kids and for my teenage clients to incorporate these foods. Now, you did not mention I'm going to make a joke, you did not mention any energy drinks as part of the supplementation. I know that's something that is very popular among my teenage clients, so we're going to take that out of the nutrition equation. But something that you said that is very it's key, I think especially to these teens, is like the string cheese and the you know the fruit that can travel well, or things that you can keep in your pocket and like I know they have the nuts, like you know they have the small bags of nuts and things like that, and I is it better to to add these things, even if it's not that your salmon or your. You know your things like that, but it's it's better to add some of these things even if you're not adding the other nutritional things. Am I in the right track here?
Speaker 1:Yeah, I think it's always better to start with the things that you can do now, right? So, for example, okay. I don't like fish. I'm never going to eat salmon. Okay, do you have other food groups or other foods that you can add that are also high in omega-3s? Right, let's focus on that. Yeah, oftentimes I like to to say let's focus on the things that we're able to change, versus, like, the things that you are not going to do, because then you're not going to do it.
Speaker 2:Right, like, just focus on this list that you like, right, or that you're willing to try, um, and then you can go from there for sure, excellent, okay okay, at least to give them something, because if I start talking to them and some of them, you know, some of them are very open, some of them are not. But, uh, if I talk, start talking to them like just carry just nuts, or you know your walnuts, and things like that, it's like, oh yeah, that's, you know, I can do that right till I cook fish, or something like that. You know some of them I should. I mean, ideally it's a partnership with a parent too, and sometimes the parents are there, sometimes they're not, which is not you know. That's it's just how to give the tools to the teenagers of something that it's easy for them to to do what about like canned salmon and things like that?
Speaker 2:would those things keep the nutritional value?
Speaker 1:yes, so the canned salmon should be fine. I know there's different kinds. I usually don't worry so much with teens in terms of like the oils. It's usually for the most part it's going to be in its own water, right? Or maybe in like olive oil. Then that's fine. If that's one of the ways to start adding salmon, perfect, that's a great option.
Speaker 2:Can we have a conversation about carbohydrates? I know that, like I said, I have some experience with it, just because of the dynamics that we have at the house with my daughter's diagnosis, but things like that sorry. But how important are carbohydrates and what? You know? If parents are being picky about the carbohydrates, what are the right type of carbohydrates for their teens? We're talking about teens here. We're talking about 47-year-old lady like me. You know we're talking about teenagers that are still very physically active, that are still growing and developing. Like, how important are carbohydrates for our teens?
Speaker 1:Yeah. So when we think about growing bodies, right, and teens that are really active, like you know, they're athletes. They're using carbohydrates as their first source of energy. That's what's going to power their training or that's what's going to power their whatever sport they're doing, right? So when we think about, okay, they need something quick crackers, right? Perfect, have some crackers with peanut butter, right? So, in terms of the type of carbohydrates, obviously we have our simple carbohydrates, which is, you know, sugars or refined flours, and then we have our complex carbohydrates, which are going to have more fiber, like whole grain crackers and a whole grain bread and wheat pasta and things like that.
Speaker 1:I think compromising with your teen, right? Okay, what are some of the crackers that you want to have? And how can we pair that with, maybe, something that is also give you some extra nutrition, right? We have to remember that, again, if teens are really active and maybe they're in sports, they're going to use that as fuel, right, it's perfect, because that's what they need at that moment, and I'd rather have them have that versus not having anything and then one struggling to get through that training or get through that sport, which is also going to affect their focus and it's going to affect their brain right, have some energy right. Because if they're already skipping meals and then we're like so picky as to what carbohydrates they should have, now they're not going to have anything right. Right, so now we're at a complete loss. So I think it's important to you in a way pick your bottles and then oftentimes we think about okay, well, they should have whole grain crackers because they're healthy. Well, not necessarily right, they have less fiber. But if that's what they like, we can always make up the fiber with maybe adding an extra serving of vegetables. Or maybe they didn't have fruit. Let's give them a piece of fruit and that way they have their fiber right.
Speaker 1:So I think it really depends on the family, but the carbohydrates are going to give fuel right. They're going to give you that energy that they need.
Speaker 2:Yes, yes, okay, wow, it is a lot of information you say you'll be able to provide me with like a list of everything that you discussed so that I can. I mean, this is so empowering for the families and the teenagers. It's just like adding these things, you can lower your symptoms. And I'm sure that it applies to teenagers but also, like my adult clients, that I see in my practice where if we treat the person as a holistic person and put this nutritional supplements into it, the symptoms will go lower. And it's such an important conversation and I'm so glad I really, really appreciate you sharing your knowledge and your tips and tricks and things like that. Uh, especially with teenagers, to make it easy for them to that it's like it doesn't have to be complicated but to supplement the body. Like I can imagine, like for my teenager, I make boiled eggs and I boiled, like you know, eight eggs on Sunday and then she has, she can take them on the go in the morning so that she has some protein before, but it's something like I said, she has type 1 diabetes, so we kind of implemented some of those tricks just by, because we have to, because she needs to eat, so but implementing those things into their lives. It's so important for them to function better and to focus and stay awake at school, like I used to teach high school and half the class would fall asleep, not because I was a boring teacher, but because they're just not supplemented, their kids, like you said. It's like they skip breakfast and then they skip lunch, or you know. Or they had, like I said, a monster drink for lunch and I mean I'm not a nutritionist but I'm like that's that can be good, good, you know. So just empowering, making those, I think, easy snacks or easy ideas, you know, for them to be practical and for them to be nutritious too and take care of their bodies.
Speaker 2:At that age, especially athletes I mean my daughter's, you know, competitive, cheerleader, and it's so important like we have to pay close attention to what she eats before the three or four hour practice sometimes, you know, because that way that she can sustain and protein has a lot to do with it. So I buy, like a rotisserie chicken from the grocery store and have at it, sweetie. You know, like I said, just instinct as a mom, but now understanding really the benefit of that and how to supplement it with other things, so with other foods and nutrition so that it's better for her. So I really appreciate your knowledge. You have just opened my, you brought my horizons at this point, and I know that my clients and the coaching that I do with the parents are going to be so thankful for adding this tool into my toolbox, so I appreciate it.
Speaker 1:Yeah, absolutely. Thank you so much for again reaching out and bringing that component to to your patients, right, and your clients. I wanted to say something about the energy drinks, because I know teens are going to have that, right, but I think, understanding the role of energy drinks in our bodies, obviously they, obviously they feel that surge of energy, right, because of the higher amounts of sugar, the caffeine specifically, but they also have components like toroine and guarana, which, essentially, are meant to increase your heart rate, right, that's why you feel like, oh my gosh, I feel like I'm going to I don't know run or whatever. But, yeah, exactly, but that effect has to come down, right, like your body can live on, like your heart rate probably would explode if that went for a longer period of time. So we tend to feel that crash as your body, as those components are bringing down your heart rate.
Speaker 1:But also, when we think about the role and I'm sure this is something that you have experienced with your team, right is that when you have this rush of sugar in your blood that signals your pancreas, hey, we need to send insulin because there's a lot of sugar in the blood and, yeah, you might use it for a little bit of energy.
Speaker 1:But as the insulin is kicking in, right, it's going to bring those sugar levels down and if you haven't had anything to eat, you're going to feel that crash, right, that's when you're going to fall asleep, that's when you're going to feel groggy, like you need to take a nap, because that energy is fast.
Speaker 1:But your body has a system that says, if there's too much sugar in the blood, we have to bring it down with insulin, right? And so then we feel the crash as opposed to like okay, I don't want to feel groggy, I don't want to feel tired all the time. Let's have some actual fuel, right. Let's get some nutrition in. Let's add some nutrition to your day, maybe not first thing in the morning, if you don't want it, but sometime in the morning, right, 10 in the morning, whatever and then have more of this consistent nutrition to have this consistent energy levels. So if you want to have the energy drink, then make that decision, but not use it as a way to keep you awake or as a way to give you that energy, because it's short-lived, right, your body is going to make it short-lived.
Speaker 2:Yeah, absolutely. And, like you said, I think, because my daughter does buy the energy drinks and, like you said, yeah, I pick my battles, but now that you mentioned it's like, okay, you can have it after you have your fuel. That's fine, you know, and I buy the smaller ones or whatever, but still it's. I think that's an important aspect of it.
Speaker 2:Just like don't have it first thing in the morning or having first thing you know the first thing in your stomach and have it after food and nutrition, so that your body can at least you know kind of balance it out. I guess, yeah, absolutely. Well, thank you so much. Is there anything else that you want to add?
Speaker 1:I know that you probably have so much information to share. I do, I do, I know, but I'll make sure to send it to you on that list. I'll add it in the show notes as well. But I wanted to ask you one more thing, right, maybe? Talk about a little bit on the myths or misconceptions about ADHD and how, like your clients deal with, or how do you help them deal with, those misconceptions.
Speaker 2:So I mean, it's a lot about education, right?
Speaker 2:So that's, you know, you know, like the nutrition, like you're sharing your knowledge and you're educating me, and now you're educating my clients, too, about how to deal with with this and how it affects or doesn't affect your body.
Speaker 2:So it's all about education. It's all about letting, giving them the tools again to okay, let's look once I have clients for like two or three months. Then I get to know them a little bit better and get to know the symptoms and get to know where they're coming from and really, if it's anxiety, if it's ADHD, if it's, you know, depression and things like that. So you get to know them a little bit better. But it's also allowing them and giving them permission to know themselves and to make a decision of you know for themselves too, even if they're teenagers. I absolutely love working with teenagers much more than adults, because we're so complicated and teenagers have the capability of actually sharing and opening up without having to think about what she's going to think about this, or I should have done this, or I should have done that, educating and and then giving them. Giving them strategies for when they're feeling hyperactive, when they're feeling sleepy, or you know what, what can you do? Because of my lack of knowledge from nutrition, that now, now it's changed because of you, so I appreciate it.
Speaker 2:I focus a lot of, at least hydration. Like you know, it's like drink water. Like kids don't drink enough water, so I focus a lot on hydration and things like that. But again, it's limited the amount of information that I have. So I do share my experience. I don't I don't prescribe medication myself, but I do have the tools to learn about medication and the side effects and things like that. So I always tell them like, if it's something that you want to do, that you want to explore, you can always go to your primary care physician. So and I let them do that because they're the ones that are more expert on medication With AGHG, I usually recommend that a primary care physician for anything like anxiety and depression and things like that. I rather them go to a specialist again and we're talking about this to like a psychiatrist, because psychiatrists will actually understand more of the diagnosis and what type of medication to to provide to them.
Speaker 2:But it's it's all about communication. It's all about giving them the safe space for them to explore and to think for themselves, to make decisions so that they can take care of themselves, they can control, control their lives. I teach them how to control their emotions, you know, and how to deal with their emotions, because there's so many things going on in their lives and they have so much stress and I think a lot of kids, they don't get enough credit for everything that they're going through. The adults were thinking like, oh, it's not that big a deal For them, it is. Everything is a big deal for them. They magnify everything. That's what they, that's what teenagers do, you know. So it's giving them the knowledge. It's like do we need to expand this? Do we need to make it bigger? It's a big problem or it's a small problem? That's one of the strategies that I use with my clients a lot of the time.
Speaker 1:So it's education and it's support and just giving them a safe space yeah, and that is so amazing because we don't learn how to deal with our emotions, right, it's not something that one we learn in school or that our parents teach us, right, oh, you're super angry. Okay, this is this. These are the steps that you take, right, like no, you figure out on your own, but that's not how. Sometimes we don't know how to figure out on our on our own. Like, we need that support, we need that safe. It's right to be able to learn how to do it, because, just with nutrition, right, these are tools and skills that we are going to need as we get older. Right, it's not that we just learn, but we don't learn them, and then that's it. Like we're going to continue to use them in our adulthood and as we continue to age, and so learning these things is, I mean, I think, everybody should have a therapist.
Speaker 2:Yeah, absolutely. I mean, I obviously I do believe in that statement wholeheartedly, but, and so, because of my practice, sometimes I would get too full and I don't have space for them. So now I'm kind of switching gears a little bit towards coaching parents on how to deal with their teenagers, how to build that communication. Like I said, teenagers are going through this is a digital age. This is the first generation of humans that their first form of communication is an electronic device, and so we're missing that relational piece with this teenager. So I feel like there's a lot of information, a lot of connection that is lost with this generation. So, like I said's a lot of information, a lot of connection that is lost with this generation.
Speaker 2:So, like I said, I'm focusing more on the parents. So the parents have the tools to help their teenagers, to provide, you know, and that's why I think this is so important for my coaching business, because it's providing the tools that they need to empower their kids and to make them independent and to you know, things like that. So that's I focus a lot on on like, say, communication skills and setting boundaries and freedom and how to discipline a teenager. Why is it different? Why do you communicate different with a teenager. So now adding this aspect to it, I think it's. It's extremely beneficial. Yeah, we provide at the house. I may be working mom, but if I have a rotisserie chicken in the fridge then my kid is going to have some, at least something available If I meal prep on Sundays and things like that. Now that I know how important it is and how it affects her mood and her sugars and her all this, now I'm going to make the extra step to kind of provide those things for my daughter.
Speaker 1:Yeah, amazing. So how can the listeners find you or how can they reach out to you? If someone is interested in your services, where can they find you?
Speaker 2:So I am on all the social medias. I have two channels. Actually, I'm 100% bilingual and bicultural, so my English channel is Parenting with Xochitl. That's on Instagram, facebook and TikTok. So Parenting with Xochitl is my handle for those three social media, and then, in Spanish, if you have any Spanish speaking clients or people or audience, it's Platica con Xochitl. That's also Instagram, facebook, and everything that I do in English, I do in Spanish. And also my website is XochitlRodriguezcom. It's as simple as that. You just have to know how to spell my name, which is tricky, but that's my website, xochitlrodriguezcom. You can find all the information, all the conferences that I do, presentations, online courses, tools, masterclasses and things like that that I'm opening up for that I've been working on for 2024 and then for 2025 is coming with a lot. It's coming with a lot. So that's where you can find me, and I have a podcast, also it's in Spanish, but it's Platica Lo Consochi and I speak about mental health and how we relate to others and things like that.
Speaker 1:Amazing. I will make sure to add all that information in the show notes and so if anyone is interested, please go to the show notes. You can also find that information there. If you're multitasking or driving, that's where you'll find it. Any final thoughts, anything else social that you want to?
Speaker 2:say that you want to add. I've learned from 47 years of working with my body, but I think it's so important and I'm so glad and I hope that we can keep collaborating in bridging those gaps of nutrition and mental wellness, because I think it's so, so important. I can see now that it goes hand in hand, you know. So I really appreciate the space and the information that you shared and I really appreciate everything that you do and, like I said, I hope that we can keep collaborating so that we can share strategies from the different fields that you know feels like they don't know each other, but now together, so that we can, you know, bring a holistic approach to our audience. So I appreciate your opening up the space for me.
Speaker 1:Yeah, absolutely. Thank you so much for coming on and having this amazing conversation. I look forward to more collaborations together as well.
Speaker 2:Absolutely. Thank you so much.
Speaker 1:Absolutely All right, everybody. Thank you so much for joining us. I am excited for this episode. Please reach out if you have any questions or if you want to learn more about Sochi's services, and don't forget to go on the show notes. Remember to take care and I will talk to you soon. Bye, bye, for now.