Dive into the world of nutritional synergy and explore how specific food pairings can boost your health. From the science behind rice and beans to the benefits of adding olive oil to your salad or citrus to your tea for metabolism-boosting effects, we uncover the secrets of “better together” food combinations. Join Dr. Wendy Bazilian for practical tips, inspiring stories, and a mindful minute to appreciate synergies in your life and reflect on small changes you can make today to boost nutrition and all-around well-being.

FROM THE EPISODE

Nutrients are important and particular foods are very important. But it's not just one plus one, like, oh, there's vitamin C in this one and there's important proteins in this one. And then you eat them together, you get vitamin C and protein. Sometimes and many times, in fact, they pair together and they amplify something else that wouldn't have happened or occurred if they weren't put together.

WE DISCUSS

(1:08) Introduction to nutritional synergy 

(10:50) The science behind nutrition synergy and why it works

(15:59) Rice and beans, a global pairing for complete protein

(18:26) Mangos and spinach for optimal iron absorption (+ a recipe in the show notes!)

(20:00) Cherries and walnuts for better sleep

(21:19) Get the most out of your salads with olive oil

(22:43) Boost the power of tea with citrus 

(23:55) Tomato sauce and olive oil, salsa and guacamole for heart and prostate health

(26:05) Herbs and spices for meat and poultry for more than just flavor

(28:57) How to enjoy food pairings in your own eating style and cultural heritage 

(30:35) Mindful minute to reflect on synergies in your life

(33:20) Easy ways to add synergy to your meals 

(37:50) A question to ponder and reflect on

(38:56) Closing remarks and gratitude to my team and you!

FOOD PAIRINGS WE DISCUSS

Listen to the episode for the ‘why’ behind each pairing.

• Grains and legumes/pulses, like rice and beans 
• Mangos and spinach 
• Tea (camellia sinensis) and lemon/citrus
• Walnuts and tart cherries
• Salsa and guacamole
• Salad greens and olive oil/oil-based dressing
• Tomato sauce and olive oil
• Herb/spices and animal proteins

TropiSoCal SMOOTHIE RECIPE

Simple and refreshing with synergistic superpowers! Vitamin C increases the absorption of iron and when it comes to leafy greens and other plant sources of iron, we need a boost to help our bodies absorb the iron. A single mango has 100% of the daily vitamin C, which helps promote a healthy immune system as well as skin and heart health. Spinach provides plant-based iron, a nutrient essential for energy and oxygen-delivery. Blend them into a tasty smoothie to boost the absorption of the iron while getting an excellent source of vitamin C. Popeye would be proud.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 medium banana
• 1 large fresh mango (or 1 1/2 cup frozen)
• 2 handfuls fresh spinach (about 2 cups)
• 2 tsp honey
• ½ tsp ground ginger
• 3/4 cup coconut water
• 1 ½ cup tart cherry juice
• 2 scoops (2 servings) of your preferred protein powder (vanilla or plain, unsweetened)
• or Greek yogurt
• Ice (optional)

DIRECTIONS:

Blend for 45-60 seconds and enjoy. Makes 2 servings.

CONNECT WITH WENDY

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Visit my website: wendybazilian.com

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Health Disclaimer: The information shared in this podcast is for educational purposes only and should not be considered individual medical or health advice. Always consult with your trusted healthcare provider before making any changes to your diet, exercise, or medical treatment.

We're talking about synergy in life,

of course, and specifically about nutritional

synergy and food pairings that are

better together.

We experience 1000 waking minutes on

average every day.

How are you spending yours?

I'm Dr. Wendy Bazilian, and you're

listening to 1000 Waking Minutes.

I can't wait to connect with

you here with practical ways to

eat well, move daily and be

healthy, to optimize every waking minute

you live for a happier, healthier

life.

Thank you for sharing some of

your waking minutes with me today.

Let's get started.

I'm saying yes to better days.

Yes.

I'm on my way.

Yes.

It's gonna be okay.

Good day and welcome to this

episode of 1000 Waking Minutes, the

podcast where we explore how small

and sometimes simple changes to our

daily routine can have a big

impact on our overall well-being

and our lives.

I'm Dr. Wendy Bazilian, and today

we're talking about synergy, what I

like to think of as our

'better together', specifically, we're going to be

talking about nutrition and food pairings

and sort of a cool topic

that I love to talk about,

so I hope you'll enjoy it

as well.

But isn't it true in life,

we're often better together, if we

get the right combo, the right

pairing, it's just better.

So think about classic things in

food like peanut butter and jelly

or cookies and milk.

I think of classic pairs like

popcorn and the movies, for example,

or favorite pairs like "we go

together like Rama, Lama, Lama...", like

Sandy and Danny from Greece.

You might think of Laurel and

Hardy, pairs in the universe that

amplify each other.

And I think nature's most perfect

pair is the sun and the

moon, or day and night.

In fact, there's a book that

we just love here.

We got it originally, when it

came out, I had heard about

it.

We got it for my daughter

and it's called Sulwe by Lupita

Nyong'o and Vashti Harrison illustrating.

And it's a story about a

little girl, Sulwe, who explores some

real challenges that she's living with

having dark skin.

One of the beautiful metaphors throughout

the book, which is really, really

true, is about darkness and nighttime

and lightness and daytime and sort

of the idea, and I'm paraphrasing

here, but in darkness, there is

always light, like the stars twinkling

and the moon, and in daylight

and sunshine, there are shadows and

how they rely on each other.

And in fact, they are better

together.

So I love the idea of

better together.

We're going to be talking about

it and we're going to talk

about food pairings in particular.

So hopefully this will be an

intriguing episode for you.

Of course, we don't just eat

nutrients, but I'm going to share

a little bit about the nutrients

that start the science of the

better together and enhancement.

We eat foods on a plate

and we eat them together, hopefully.

And so the best better together

is when we can share the

magic of synergy around the table

with each other.

And I want to show you

how certain foods work better together

and how simple pairings to tease

you with some ideas that you

can actually take to your own

kitchen and your own creations, to

your own cuisine.

So you don't have to eat

a specific certain type of food

or way, but there are some

clues that I'll give you in

some of these pairings on how

you can do it on your

own as well.

So to kick things off here,

I would like to share a

quote that I think really captures

today's theme.

As some of you know, if

you've listened before, you know me

in person, you know, I sort

of love poetry and love quotes

that have meaning to me and

hopefully those that I work with

or that I share time with

on as well.

And today I have a few

about synergy, but this is the

one that I want to focus

on today.

This is by Ryunosuke Satoro,

a Japanese poet and writer known

for his sort of reflective nature

and about the power of collaboration,

really.

And it speaks to this and

synergy, I think.

"Individually, we are one drop.

Together, we are an ocean."

Thinking about how we come together,

one drop in the ocean, but

together we are, we're bigger, we

are grander and we're all integrated

and collaborative in that way.

And that's how our nutrients really

come together in a food, right?

You don't taste calcium per se.

You don't taste vitamin C.

You taste the food.

And in fact, you may get

the note of a food, but

then when it's well fused into

a plate, you get the overall

experience of it.

So I think that foods are

incredible and they have the power

to create something far more powerful

and hopefully more enjoyable than any

one food on its own.

So a quick story about why

this is important to me and

why now.

I really love talking about synergy.

I've done a couple of TV

segments on it.

I brought some of my favorite

tips to Live with Kelly and

Mark in the past.

And I love the thematic and

the idea that the foods, you

know, that we knew this globally

and historically, even before the science

showed up.

Maybe that's the thing I love

most about synergy.

Some of this you'll see are

things that we've been doing as

a humankind well before the science

has shown up.

And I love that science shows

it.

So anyway, recently I gave a

keynote at our annual conference for

nutrition and food called the Food

and Nutrition Conference and Expo.

We call it FNCE.

It's put on by the Academy

of Nutrition Dietetics each year in

a major city.

This year it was in Minneapolis,

Minnesota at the Convention Center.

Many, many thousands of nutrition professionals,

dietitians come together, students, faculty and

whatnot.

And I was awarded a Distinguished

Lecture Award.

And my topic, the title of

my talk was called "Better Together:

Harnessing the Power of We in

a Me-Centered World."

Throughout this talk for 90 minutes

that I delivered, I talked about

mentorship and diversity in teams and

collaborations and how health outcomes are

greater for individuals and participation greater

when diversity is reflected or when

diverse teams come together, interdisciplinary teams

come together.

I talked a little bit about

some of the Blue Zones projects

happening nowadays, ways to create communities

that are healthier together.

But what I really anchored it

in originally was the core of

synergy and nutrition synergy that, you

know, as nutrition professionals, we learn

the chemistry and the science of

the nutrients.

There's a fascinating piece that comes

together when you know what those

nutrients do and how they can

amplify each other.

So nutrients are important and particular

foods are very important.

But it's not just one plus

one, like, oh, there's vitamin C

in this one and there's important

proteins in this one.

And then you eat them together,

you get vitamin C and protein.

Sometimes and many times, in fact,

they pair together and they amplify

something else that wouldn't have happened

or occurred if they weren't put

together.

So in an effort to sort

of celebrate what I love about

nutrition and food, which is that

history plays a role, culture plays

a role, religion plays a role,

anthropology and our behaviors play a

role, so many things, politics and

so many things play a role

in food.

I feel like synergy and talking

about food pairings is really all

of those things.

So whether we're talking about beans

and rice, which we will be

talking about, I feel like they're

the Bert and Ernie of food

pairing, you know, Sesame Street, Bert

and Ernie, you know that they

they're like two best friends that

why wouldn't you eat them together?

Even though I'll tell you you

can, of course, but why wouldn't

you eat them together?

They're delicious.

They make magic happen.

These are the type of food

pairings that have happened around the

world long before we had the

tools of modern nutrition science to

really identify the why and how

and the mechanisms.

And now we just get the

best of that and also continue

to do our delicious pairings at

the table.

Think about common culinary traditions.

Surely you've heard about beans and

rice being a great pair.

Maybe you've heard that they're a

great complete plant-based protein.

And I know that there's probably

a few people who are listening

right now.

And you may be one of

them who's saying, yeah, but I

heard you don't have to eat

them at the same time.

And it is true.

We'll get to that in a

few minutes, but you don't have

to eat them at the same

time.

But why wouldn't you?

People historically and culturally have eaten

rice and beans together or some

version of rice slash grains and

beans, certain types of pulses virtually

around the world.

You're hard pressed to find a

culture that doesn't have some iteration

of this.

You can think of things like

falafel and hummus in the Middle

East or pasta and beans.

How about pasta fagioli in Italy?

Of course, rice and beans and

iterations of that in Latin America,

different versions of corn or maize

and legumes in a variety of

cultures around the world.

That's where the beauty of synergy

comes in.

A lot of people are probably

already doing it.

So I want to celebrate a

lot today.

Some of the things you'll be

like, "ah, I never knew!"

And I'm going to talk about

that tonight, perhaps with my family

or friends, just how good this

pair can be.

And here's where it really gets

fun.

We're going to dive into how

you can create these foods in

delicious ways at the table on

an ongoing basis.

So let's really look at some

of the nutrients and how they

amplify one another.

More like one plus one equals

three, five, nine, twelve, twenty.

And we're going to talk about

that.

So let's look at just a

little bit of the science behind

why certain power foods, super foods

happen to be good for each

other, good to each other, amplify

one another.

You've probably heard about how certain

foods may boost their nutritional benefits.

But I want to dig a

little deeper into the why.

I'm going to set you up

a little bit with some vitamin

mineral pairings, some of the basics,

and then we're going to build

it back into food because, of

course, we don't just eat nutrients.

We eat foods on plates in

patterns over time.

But just to ground ourselves for

a minute, surely you've heard of

calcium being paired with vitamin D.

Calcium,

we think of bone health.

Calcium has other roles in the

body.

But bone health is the primary

one that gets all the glory.

When we have calcium and vitamin

D, vitamin D helps us absorb

the calcium and set us up

for helping maintain our blood calcium

as well as maintain the integrity

of our bone structure and to

utilize calcium well in the body.

And so it's not just about

getting enough calcium.

We need the tools to help

us absorb it and utilize it

better.

And there are others when it

comes to bones as well.

Vitamin K is one that helps

in the whole process as well.

And some others, phosphorus, the

calcium and vitamin D are a

classic pairing.

So whether you consume like dairy,

like milk, which would have calcium

plus fortified with vitamin D, or

you take a supplement, typically it

would be a calcium that includes

a vitamin D or you would

be encouraged to have a calcium

and a vitamin D, or you

would look at your diet and

make sure that you're getting the

sources of foods and whatever supplement

to enhance that absorption.

Together, they help protect against osteopenia,

osteoporosis, help maintain bone health over

time.

So that's a basic vitamin mineral [pairing].

But what about vitamin C and

E?

Vitamin C and E amplify each

other and they operate a little

differently.

You may have heard of antioxidants

and sort of maybe you even

throw that term around like, oh,

they're antioxidants.

Well, antioxidants can operate differently.

There's different ways that antioxidants or

these phytochemicals can operate.

There are hundreds of them.

In fact, there are thousands of

what are called phytochemicals with some

overlapping and some different roles.

So vitamin C, what does it

do?

It does a lot of things.

But in this role, when we

pair it sort of with the

vitamin E in our diet, vitamin

C neutralizes free radicals or helps

before the damage is created even.

So it helps stop the oxidation.

The best example of this that

I think that you could probably

visualize if you're a visual thinker

is an apple.

If you slice an apple and

if you immediately squeeze lemon on

it, it will prevent the browning,

prevent the oxidative damage from happening

for a good long while.

So it's a big opportunity to

squeeze that lemon.

But if you wait time and

it starts browning, you can stop

it from moving forward.

But you're not going to undo

that browning.

That's what vitamin C does, which

is really, really cool.

Meanwhile, vitamin E operates in tandem

and amplifies vitamin C because vitamin

E can help regenerate other antioxidants

like selenium to help keep the

cell protected from some of this.

So this is really like a

tag team for your immune system,

vitamin C and vitamin E and

boosting them.

And together they can help decrease

inflammation as well.

So when we put this into

a plate, think stir frying some

broccoli with some vitamin C rich

red pepper, maybe some almonds, which

are a rich source of vitamin

E.

And you give your body tools

that can help fight off some

oxidative damage from the stress, the

pollution, the UV rays of the

day, what I call the daily

assaults of living that that we're

all hit with every single day.

So there are a number of

nutrients that come together, the actual

vitamins and minerals.

I have a whole table of

them.

They're always like sort of a

showcase.

People tend to be intrigued in

the health professional audience

when I show this little table,

I'm happy to share it with

you.

But these are like the basics,

plus some really curious newer ones,

in the actual vitamins and

minerals that come together.

But I really like to bring

it very quickly to our real

table.

And that's what I want to

focus on the remainder of our

time together are the real foods

that come together.

And then I'll come back to

why within the nutrients, within those

foods.

So the beauty of nutrient pairings

is that they work better together.

So it's not just about putting

like nutrient rich foods on your

plate.

It's about the fact that when

you put these kinds of foods

together, they actually do something more.

It's like they create an amplification

or a better together effect for

our health and hopefully for your

daily life as well.

So first, rice and beans.

I mentioned that before, and it

is a classic and it bears

repeating because it is a global,

a global favorite.

You know, you can eat a

vegetarian diet, you can eat a

meat based diet and rice and

beans can fit.

Now, when rice and beans are

served alone, each has a different

what's called limiting amino acid, meaning

it's not a complete protein, still

great nutrition.

You know, our beans still have

the fiber and they have some

phytochemicals.

The rice has some rich grains [nutrients]

and carbohydrates.

But as a protein, they're not

complete, but they complement one another.

So these limiting amino acids, lysine

for the grain, methionine for the

for the bean, they complement one

another when they come together and

they're eaten together.

They become a complete protein.

Now, research -

this is the parentheses - research for

the last couple of decades has

shown that you don't technically have

to eat rice and beans at

the same meal.

Basically, it all works out in

the system because we break it

down to our amino acids.

We build it back up into

our tissues and all the important

needs in our body.

Anytime within a 24 hour period,

you can get the completeness of

the protein from those amino acids.

But it bears to repeat, why

wouldn't you eat beans and rice

together if you if you like

it?

And I encourage people to do

it because it is a classic.

Plus, if we can bring this

even further, a study published in

the journal called Nutritional Journal found

that this combination, rice and beans,

actually can help regulate blood sugar,

particularly for those with type two

diabetes.

So it's not just good for

nutrition.

It's good...

you know, this nutritional synergy can

help health overall.

Why might that be?

You know, these are some proposed

mechanisms.

But when you add fiber to -

you boost the fiber, which would be

in the beans with the rice,

it can stabilize blood sugar a

little bit - the combination.

The completeness of the protein may

bring down the blood sugar or

modulate the rate that it enters

the bloodstream.

And also it's a protein.

So protein is satisfying and satiating.

Plus, it's pleasurable.

That's not really a mechanism, but

pleasurable food, I feel like, is

very satisfying.

But there's research to support the

blood sugar regulation for rice and

beans.

Next up, mangoes and spinach.

And I use these together to

remind me really, to share a

smoothie recipe, which I will do

in the show notes or link

to it, I guess, called my

TropiSoCal smoothie, which features mango

and spinach in a delicious, drinkable

smoothie.

Mangoes, you may not know, but

they have 100 percent, one mango

has 100 percent of your daily

vitamin C.

So vitamin C, I already started

to mention some of the benefits

of vitamin C, but it's also

good for your skin health, good

for your immune system, and it's

an antioxidant and we need it

for our health.

Spinach is a source of a

number of nutrients, but plant-based

iron.

And when vitamin C is combined

with non-heme or plant-based

iron, it doubles the absorption of

that kind of iron.

And so while plants have a

source of iron, they tend not

to be as high or as

bioavailable as an animal-based iron

source, which is called heme iron.

But or and if you add,

I should do a lot of

'ands' because synergy is about the

and.

And if you add a vitamin

C source with any kind of

leafy green, you're going to double

the absorption of that non-heme

iron.

You get more out of it.

So next time you're blending up

that smoothie or making the salad,

make sure you get some mangoes

in there or other vitamin C

sources, as I'll come back to

in a couple minutes.

Next, cherries and walnuts.

And when I talk about this,

I'm talking about tart cherries.

You would probably only find tart

cherries fresh when they're in season.

And if you're somewhere where they

grow, like northern Michigan, like the

tart cherry capital of the world,

is Traverse City and tart cherries

are also known by the name

Montmorency most typically.

Now, tart cherries, you can find

them in dried form and juice

and in frozen form.

So those would be the primary

ways to get them year round.

And I think the dried tart

cherries are like the perfect amount

of sweet and tart.

And they're a high in vitamin

A.

They're also one of the natural

sources of melatonin that we know

about in the food supply.

Well, so are walnuts.

So cherries and walnuts are both

melatonin sources.

That's the sleep hormone.

It won't put you to sleep,

but it might help regulate your

healthy sleep cycle.

And walnuts are the only nut

with an excellent source of omega

-3.

So when we put those together,

say, in a trail mix or

on our salad, not only do

we get the unique nutrients of

each of those foods, but we

also get an amplified anti-

inflammatory effect, reduce inflammation, some sources

of melatonin, and they're just better

together.

Isn't that a cool pairing?

Olive oil and salad.

I'm so happy to share that

dressing should be on your salad.

I hope you've already heard this

message.

It has been going for a

good decade or so.

But I grew up in an

era and well into my 20s

where there was a phase where

people were really taking the dressing

off the salad.

They were just squeezing a little

lime or lemon or citrus or

vinegar on their salad and taking

away the olive oil, afraid of

the fat, of course.

But if you've ever wondered why

the Mediterranean diet is so healthy,

it's not only attributable to olive

oil, of course, but olive oil,

when it's paired with leafy greens,

it boosts the antioxidants in those

greens, the carotenoids, which play a

role in skin health, immune health

and other things, by up to

400 percent.

So adding the dressing, adding that

fat into your salad not only

helps with satisfaction.

It's delicious.

There's other benefits to olive oil

you may have heard about, but

it actually helps out the greens

and other vegetables that may be

in your salad.

It amplifies and boosts their absorption

in the body.

So don't skip the dressing.

I hope that you've heard that

message loud and clear.

And it's not just for flavor,

but it gives a really legitimate

nutritional boost.

Here's one that I find fun.

I hope that you will, too.

And it's tea, like green tea,

white tea, black tea, tea plus

citrus.

Research has shown that when you

add citrus or a source of

vitamin C to your tea, and

when I'm talking about tea, it's

Camellia sinensis, the real tea.

There are great things in those

herbal teas, which are technically called

tisanes or infusions.

But when you add citrus

or vitamin C to real tea,

Camellia sinensis that has those catechins,

EGCG and those

other metabolism boosting, fat burning effects

in tea, it increases the absorption

of the catechins by up to

five times. Up to five times

more by adding that squeeze of

lemon, that squeeze of orange, a little

orange juice into your tea time.

So I hope you'll celebrate that

way.

I think it's really fun to

add some things to my

tea.

Sometimes I drink it plain because,

you know, life is about variety,

but you get extra bonus if

you add the vitamin C to

your tea time.

Next, lycopene and fat.

So now I'm talking about nutrients

again, but I'm going to put

those into two kinds of real

food plates.

Pasta with sauce, red sauce, tomato

sauce and olive oil makes for

increased absorption of lycopene, a very

important carotenoid or antioxidant and phytonutrient,

by up to 26 percent.

So when you add the fat,

similar to what we're doing in

the salad a little while ago,

it increases the absorption.

Now, you may have heard that

tomatoes, well, they've got great nutrition

no matter how you slice them,

fresh or otherwise.

But lycopene really is enhanced by

heat.

So sauces, tomato sauces, pizza sauces,

roasted tomatoes will have higher lycopene

to start.

But when you add something like

olive oil as the roasting medium

or into the sauce, you actually

can enhance the lycopene absorption.

Lycopene can play a role in

heart health.

It's shown to play a role

in reducing risk of stroke and

in men, in promoting and helping

with a healthy prostate.

So that's number one, lycopene and

fats.

The other one I want to

draw your attention to is a

classic, salsa and guacamole.

So if you've ever dipped your

chips, I hope you have, in

salsa and guacamole, you'd be well

to have both because salsa again,

is that tomato has some lycopene,

even when it's fresh, it still

has lycopene and avocados with all

those nutrients, plus the fat, plus

the fiber, plus the green from

lutein, an antioxidant.

Well, those monounsaturated fats and avocados

helps increase the absorption of lycopene.

So salsa and guac, I mean,

they just go together, don't they?

And there's a reason that they

enhance and amplify each other as

well.

And finally, I want to talk

about flavor in general, herbs and

spices in particular.

When herbs and spices are added

to meats or higher fat foods,

we see benefits in a couple

of different ways that are very

compelling.

Number one, research from Penn State

has shown that when herbs [and spices] are

added to a high fat meal,

so think of heavy, high fat

meal, this wasn't the study design,

but think, you know, fattier meat

with some herbs and spices, a

rub or marinade, maybe some fries

or something, you know, heavy, fatty

meal.

When herbs and spices are added

to that, this Penn State study

found that post meal triglycerides were

significantly reduced.

So this means that when we

eat a high fat meal, it

is very natural that right after

the meal, our blood gets a

little thicker and it starts reflecting

the food for a period of

time, especially high fat meals, our

triglycerides tend to go up.

Well, herbs and spices have shown

to help bring that down or

keep that lower over time.

So that's important.

And triglycerides can be a risk

factor, as you may know, to

different cardiometabolic disease and conditions, heart

disease risk, metabolic disorders like syndrome X,

prediabetes and others.

But this is the real reason

as well.

When herbs and spices are added

in marinades or rubs to animal

meats like meat, poultry or fish

before cooking, any time that an

animal meat, this doesn't apply to

vegetables, an animal meat goes to

heat -

so it's baking, grilling, roasting...

think the grill outside -

there is a production of cancer

causing compounds.

I don't say that lightly, but,

you know, in life we are

affected by lots of different micro

assaults and we hope that our

body system and the antioxidants in

our other foods will help work

that out.

Well, when you add herbs and

spices to the meat and marinades,

it can reduce the production of

those harmful compounds on the grill

by 70 to 80-plus percent,

70 percent and higher by a

number of studies that have been

done.

That means making your meat more

delicious by adding things like rosemary

and garlic and thyme and your

herb and spice blends can reduce

the production of HCA's, which are

called heterocyclic amines, malondialdehyde, other

compounds that are generated from grilling

can stop it from happening or

reduce it significantly.

That's a huge plus.

So these are a few of

the food pairings.

I hope I've sort of whetted

your appetite.

I've teased you with some of

those.

We'll put them into our plate.

But really, one of the amazing

things about food synergy, again, is

how it fits into global cuisine

already.

Around the world, we have these

flavors and these pairings.

Think about how they have come

traditionally and how they may come

into your life as well.

So this isn't about me saying,

"follow my diet" or follow

the specific eating pattern.

It's very likely that you can

find ways within your cultural heritage

or your kitchen or your desires

and tastes to make this food

synergy happen.

And as many of you know,

I really value dining with others

as part of a well-promoting

lifestyle and behavior.

And as we talked about in

episode one, the very first episode

of this podcast, The Magic of

Shared Meals, there's more to eating

than just nutrition.

So I really think of synergy

as sharing these foods around the

table that brings us connection and

joy.

And that really is part of

better together.

We've seen when people come together

and share meals at a table

together that actually they tend to

live longer.

They tend to have lower stress.

So another plus to pairing your

foods, pairing them together and hopefully

pairing them with others that are

meaningful in your life will have

a net-net win to your

overall well-being.

OK, now we're going to take

a moment together to have what

I call in each episode our

Mindful Minute.

And this is a time where

we get to measure a minute

together, take pause, reflect and reconnect

with ourselves over this minute.

And today we'll focus, of course,

on synergy, both in what we

eat, but also in life.

So I'm going to encourage that

because we know that the power

of small changes can lead to

big impact.

And some of these pairings can

do just that for you.

So first, I'm going to prepare

us and we're going to, if

it's appropriate in the space that

you're at, not if you're driving,

we're going to close our eyes

or lower your lids and gaze

softly somewhere in front of you.

And just in preparation, let's take

a deep breath in and then

exhale.

Take a deep breath in, let

it out slowly.

And we're going to imagine how

pairings, how the right pairing, whether

it's food or people or actions,

can amplify what you already have

in your life.

We're going to be thinking about

how these combinations can bring balance

and joy and maybe strength into

your day.

OK, I'm going to start our

stopwatch now and we're just going

to breathe simply.

Think about something in your routine

that works well together already, maybe

something as simple as adding lemon

to your tea, if you like

that, for an extra boost or

a partnership with someone in your

life that brings you energy and

joy.

As you continue breathing, visualize something

small you could add to your

day that would bring more balance

and nourishment, whether it's a new

food pairing or maybe a moment

of collaboration with someone in your

life, someone you've been meaning to

reach out to perhaps.

Now, one more deep breath, and

as you exhale, imagine how these

small actions, these synergies, can grow

into something bigger.

Thank you for sharing that Mindful

Minute with me.

It's always good to reflect on

the minutes spent, maybe repeat it

again later in your day and

take small inventory on some of

our waking minutes.

Now, we've covered some of the

science, I've teased you with some

of the pairings, hopefully you're already

thinking about ways that you can

pair some of these foods together,

and I want to bring it

home and get practical and bring

it into our days and

into our meals.

So I'm going to give you

some easy tips that you might

try.

You'll hear me reinforce some that

I already teased to before, but,

you know, simple small changes that

you can make right away to

get more out of the food

you're already eating.

So let's start at the very

beginning, a boost in your breakfast.

If you like oatmeal, maybe add

some walnuts and dried cherries to

it.

This simple combo, of course, gives

you that plant based omega-3

I talked about in the walnuts,

the shared melatonin that both contribute,

the tart cherries give some great

flavor as well as some fiber

and also vitamin A.

And together they have some anti

-inflammatory effects and benefits as well.

How about tea time?

Whether you like your morning tea

or you bring it into the

afternoon, next time you're brewing tea,

add a squeeze of lemon or

a little bit of orange.

I like to actually sweeten my

tea sometimes with honey, sometimes with

honey and orange juice or just

use a little orange juice.

So if you add a little

bit of vitamin C there, you're

giving yourself not only the powerful

antioxidants, but amplifying their availability in

your body.

At lunch, maybe a power lunch

salad. Let's make our salad work

even harder for us with our

leafy greens and then maybe add

some strawberries and bell peppers for

vitamin C.

That's another way.

And I mentioned mangoes and spinach

before, but this is similar.

The strawberries and bell pepper are

vitamin C sources, hard workers with

our spinach and our leafy greens,

to help us with the iron

absorption.

And then, of course, we're going

to dress that salad with some

healthy fat and that can be

a drizzle of olive oil or

a nice vinaigrette.

We can snack well in the

afternoon with maybe a trail mix,

again, featuring those cherries and walnuts,

or maybe a smoothie, the Tropi-

SoCal smoothie with mangoes and spinach

and other combinations.

And to have quick on the

go snacks that are actually are

satisfying, delicious, nutritious and even do

more... synergy.

At dinnertime, think about the rice

and beans or the different kinds

of pulses or bean family with

some grain.

Together, they provide all those amino

acids.

Again, you don't have to eat

them at the same time, but

they are so satisfying.

They may help with healthy blood

sugar, certainly with your energy levels

and how you feel.

And they can really be filling

while providing some fiber and other

great nutrition as well.

Other snacks, either appetizers, snacks, thinking

about our fats and our tomatoes

like we did before, so guacamole

and salsa with your chips. Thinking

about and remembering to use our

olive oil and, of course, using

our herbs and spices all along

the way.

Their day job is flavor.

That's why it's the greatest thing

to talk about herbs and spices,

their day job.

That's what they do is flavor.

But the more science and more

tools and more researchers that are

paying attention to herbs and spices,

they are really like superheroes by

every other standard on some of

the incredible things they do.

We'll do a whole episode here

in the in the future about

flavor and herbs and spices.

But suffice to say today for

amplification and synergy, herbs and spices

can be your friend as well.

So remembering all the different foods

that we talked about in pairings,

I'll provide a list in the

show notes.

I have a whole bunch

more.

But let's think about the simple

ways that we can pair foods

together to make delicious meals and

snacks and beverages that will amplify

our enjoyment as well as the

nutrition in our food.

So I hope you'll try one

or two of these tips this

week and see how you feel.

I'd love to hear.

And it doesn't take too much

to start building synergy into your

daily life.

And the benefits will add up

over time.

That's my promise.

Before we wrap up, I always

like to pose a question for

us to consider, for us to

take a moment together to reflect

on.

We talked a lot about how

food and hopefully it'll extend to

your life, how people and being

together can amplify our benefits and

how food synergy, how the small

changes and pairings can really, not

only be additive, but enhanced.

One plus one equals three, five,

nine, 15, 20 and more.

So here's the question.

"What's one food pairing or small

change you could try this week

that would help you get more

out of your meals?"

Is there something as simple as

adding some citrus to your tea

or a handful of walnuts and

cherries?

How would that maybe make you

feel?

Sometimes when we feel good in

our brain about some of our

behaviors, it starts also translating to

how we feel in our body

as well.

So I hope that and encourage

you to feel that as well.

So take a moment to reflect

on how you might apply this

in your own life.

You don't need to overhaul everything

at once.

Start with one thing, one pairing

and see how it makes you

feel by the end of your

day, your 1000 waking minutes a

day.

So today where we've come is

thinking about the world of synergy.

We go together "...like Rama, Lama,

Lama," like Grease, the perfect pairing

to amplify each other.

We talked about how certain nutrients

and then certain foods.

When they come together, they make

more and they work together to

boost your health more, whether it's

the complete protein and amino acids,

whether it's enhanced iron absorption when

vitamin C is added or how

olive oil increases those carotenoids by

an impressive 400 plus percent.

These combinations, as we know, are

not just good nutrition.

They really amplify the benefits for

your meals and promote good health

overall.

Remember that they're easy to implement

and they're part of how you

can make the most out of

your 1000 waking minutes each day.

It's not about perfection, but it's

about making those small practical changes

that can add up over time.

Thank you for sharing a few

of your waking minutes with me

today as we explored the power

of synergy and around the table.

I hope you feel inspired with

some fresh ideas and delicious ideas

you can try in your own

life.

Until next time, be well.

Thank you for tuning in to

1000 Waking Minutes, a huge thank

you to our amazing collaborators, including

our production and marketing teams and

Gabriela Escalante in particular. To the

ultra talented, Beza, for my theme

music, my lifelong friend and artist

Pearl Preis Photography and Design, to

Daniel Ballantyne, Jen Nguyen, Joanna Powell,

and of course, my family and

everyone working tirelessly behind the scenes

and to you, our valued listeners:

I so appreciate your support.

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Until next time, find some simple

opportunities to optimize those 1000 Waking

Minutes each day.

I'm saying yes, to better days,

yes, I'm on my way, yes,

it's gonna be okay, yeah.

I'm saying yes, to better days,

yes, I'm on my way, yes,

it's gonna be okay, yeah.