Episode 20: Ashley Wood of Manifest This! Podcast on Food Blogging, Mindfulness, and Vegan Motherhood

I’ll admit, I had a hard time capturing the conversation I had with this week’s guest in one simple title - I’d argue none could do this justice! I’m speaking with Ashley Wood on today’s show, the host of Manifest This! podcast and international Akashic Records reader. Ashley Wood is a healer, spiritual teacher, intuitive guide, and mother dedicated to empowering women to live their best life. She is passionate about vegan living, yoga, animals, and the outdoors. She lives in Winnipeg, Canada, with her husband Ben and daughter Ivy, and cats Bose and Feesh. Together, they create and produce Manifest This! and own Lot 49 Dairy Free Foods.

I first came across Ashley online when a friend recommend checking out her vegan food blog back in 2013, and I instantly fell in love with the joy and peaceful nature within each recipe post - she provided a lot of inspiration during the two very snowy Winnipeg winters I made it through! Since then, Ashley has gone on to become an amazing mother and an internationally-recognized podcast host and Akashic Records reader. This gradual shift made so much sense, given that Ashley radiates a kindness and wisdom that comes through even during an inter-province Skype call!

We speak in this episode about her journey through life and the ways that her vegan lifestyle has influenced and interacted with different periods of growth from her: from the reasons she became a vegan and longtime connection to nature, to her early food blogging days to the creation of her podcast and shift in focus to something that aligned more with her own spiritual goals and passions. This interview paints a beautiful audio-portrait of a woman who’s honesty and grounded nature has inspired thousands of women internationally to explore their spiritual side a bit more, and it was such an honour to speak with her on topics we both feel so passionately about!

Check out the full episode in the player above, or download on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, iHeartRadio and Google Play!

Learn More About Ashley!

• Manifest This! podcast

• Akashic Records Readings

• Instagram: @_ashleywood

• Email: hello@ashleywood.life

Books Ashley Mentioned:

• Eat, Feel Fresh by Sahara Rose

• Veganomincon by Isa Chandra Moskowitz 

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Episode 16: Lindsay Grenier on Food Guidelines During Pregnancy

As both a mother and anthropology student, I’ve been so fascinated by how food and pregnancy connect - and stoked to finally share a discussion on this topic! This week I’m speaking with Lindsay Grenier, a research assistant at McMaster University.

Lindsay did her Masters research as part of the Mothers2Babies study, which is a long term study on maternal nutritional health through McMaster University. She currently works as a research assistant at McMaster, where she focuses on maternal health and nutrition. Her research interests revolve around women’s health and social issues, particularly during pregnancy, along with health literacy, knowledge translation, and social determinants of health.

In this interview, we discuss food guidelines and taboos for pregnant people in Canada, and explore the ways in which social and biological factors shape access to nutritional knowledge during pregnancy. Knowledge translation is a big priority for a lot of academics in recent years, so we break down what this term means for prenatal health and nutrition research, and how cultural belief systems impact the attitudes and behaviours surrounding food consumption and avoidance during pregnancy.

Access to food and the social and cultural implications of this during pregnancy is a topic I’ve been very passionate about, particularly as a young mother who worked at a restaurant throughout my pregnancy and definitely had to hustle to make ends meet. It means a lot to share this discussion, in the hopes that it raises some awareness about the limitations and barriers some people face during their pregnancies. Enjoy in the link above, or on any major podcast platform!

Resources:

Mothers To Babies Study info:

• http://m2bstudy.wix.com/study

• https://www.facebook.com/M2BStudy/

Canada Food Guide/Pregnancy nutrition resources:

• https://www.facebook.com/HealthyFamiliesHamilton/

• https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/food-nutrition/healthy-eating/prenatal-nutrition.html

• https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/food-nutrition/canada-food-guide/choosing-foods/advice-different-ages-stages/pregnancy-breastfeeding.html

• https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/food-nutrition/healthy-eating/prenatal-nutrition/healthy-weight-gain-pregnancy.html

Episode 14: Dr. Ben Wyman on Dietary Trends in the Fitness World

This week on AnthroDish, we're delving into the world of fitness and nutrition with Dr. Ben Wyman. Ben is a light-hearted, laid-back neurology resident physician from Hamilton, Ontario. He loves sports, fitness, nutrition, reading, and relaxing with family and friends.

In this episode, Ben uses both his professional training and personal experiences in the fitness world to explore some of the major topics. We discuss gym ideologies and the belief systems that connect food practices with fitness goals and training, break down the pros and cons of supplementation use, and explore the emerging dietary practice of intermittent fasting. We get the scoop from Ben about the ways in which this new practice can safely be used and interesting health benefits/drawbacks that may be connected with it.

As a side note, you may hear us mentioning our mutual connection Beth a bit throughout this – so if you hear that and are wondering who the heck we’re talking about, it’s former guest Dr. Beth Jolley (episode 6), who spoke about dietary trends at large a few weeks ago. 

 If you’d like to learn more about the new research that might put a kink in the paleo diet philosophy, you can also find the news article and link to the original scientific report below. 

Media article: https://www.theguardian.com/science/2018/jul/16/archaeologists-find-earliest-evidence-of-bread

Science article: http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2018/07/10/1801071115

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Episode 6: Dr. Beth Jolley's Medical Take on Diet Culture and Nutrition

Today’s guest is Dr. Beth Jolley, a family medicine resident through McMaster University. Beth and I grew up in Peterborough, ON without ever knowing each other, and met when we were placed as roommates at the University of Guelph. She’s one of those rare, beautiful people who is crazy insightful and thoughtful in all of her work, but also very humble about her accomplishments. Throughout our friendship, I’ve always known her to take a uniquely holistic approach to issues, integrating artistic and scientific perspectives into questions about life, health, and wellbeing.

On today’s episode, we sit down and talk about her experiences as a young doctor, and focus on nutrition and diet from her medical perspective. We talk about diet culture and main misconceptions or challenges in tackling this as a doctor, barriers to nutritional knowledge, the level of nutritional education that medical students receive, holistic frameworks to look at health and diet, and eating behaviours at end of life. It's a super fascinating interview and Beth shares some unique and refreshing thoughts on health and nutrition.

Check out the episode here, or download on iTunes, Spotify, or Castbox! 

Resources from Beth: 

• Dieticians of Canada's UnLock Food
• Advanced Health Care Planning
• Brazil’s Food Guide