Tiffany Robinson (00:02.478)
Hi, and thank you for tuning into Comfort Connections. I'm your host, Tiffany Robinson, and today I'll be discussing how to prepare healthy and nutritious meals for senior patients with Dr. Joan Seljie Blake. Dr. Seljie Blake is the nutrition professor at Boston University and host of Spot On, a nutrition and wellness podcast where she breaks down complicated health information into advice people can act on.

Dr. Seljie Blake's 40 plus years of experience as a nutritional expert and professor make her the perfect person to talk to about keeping our elderly patients healthy. Dr. Seljie Blake, thank you so much for joining us here on Comfort Connections.

Joan Salge Blake (00:44.231)
Thank you for inviting me. I'm excited.

Tiffany Robinson (00:47.306)
Awesome. You have had such an impactful career. You've spent over 40 years as a nutritional expert.

Joan Salge Blake (00:53.405)
All right, Tiffany, I started when I was 10. Okay. So let's, you know, you know what mean? Okay.

Tiffany Robinson (00:57.87)
Absolutely, absolutely. What made you want to focus your work on nutrition, particularly for helping people live healthier lives?

Joan Salge Blake (01:09.197)
know, Tiffany, nutrition is a science, which is a beautiful thing, because that means that research is continually coming out to update the latest science of how what you put into your body can heal your body and give it longevity.

And the problem with science, Tiffany, I don't know if you ever read like the Journal of the American Medical Association, it's a snoozer. I mean, it's really bad. So, you know, it's really boring the way they write. And I said, there's gotta be a better way. So my job was as a registered dietitian and nutrition professor to take the nutrition science and translate it into actionable, understandable terms where people could say, you know, I can do that.

make that change and that's what I'd like to do and want to keep doing.

Tiffany Robinson (01:58.986)
Absolutely. Why is it important to really focus on nutrition for specifically aging populations?

Joan Salge Blake (02:05.085)
Yes, Tiffany, Mother Nature is not nice. Okay, so as you age, your metabolism will start slowing down. Now, Mother Nature gives you wisdom. That's great. I love that when I'm around younger people because I have an edge on them slightly. But your metabolism will slow down. So what that means is the amount of calories that you needed when you were 30 and 40 are not going to be the same when you were 50, 60 and on.

your metabolism goes down, you need less calories. So what that means is you have to make sure that every bite is really nutritionally rich because you still need all those nutrients. In fact, when you get older, you may actually need more of a certain nutrient like calcium, but you need less calories. So we want to make sure that every bite counts.

Tiffany Robinson (02:59.21)
Absolutely. Many home care clients need help with meal preparation. Many of our caregivers are going into the home on top of helping people with their daily activities of living. They're also doing meal prep. Let's get into some tips for caregivers. What should they know when preparing meals for older adults?

Joan Salge Blake (03:19.431)
Well, the first thing, the first reason why people eat is for taste. And you just take that as a given. So it's really, really important that you say to the person, what do you like? You know, what foods do you like? And then let's make some nutritional changes around those foods. You know, and so that makes sure what's on the plate is something that they're going to enjoy. And you know, meat loss.

meatloaf, meatballs, casseroles, pasta dishes, whatever. But then let's make sure that every meal, and actually throughout the day, we have protein-rich foods, because that's something that's very, very important for older adults, actually for younger adults also, and making sure we have plenty of vegetables on our plate, because we know that they are powerful, powerful foods. They provide a lot of all your vitamins and minerals.

but most importantly, they have phytochemicals in them that can help fight inflammatory diseases, help with anti-aging. So we really gotta make sure that our vegetables are on the plate. And Tiffany, here's the sad news. You know, we're supposed to be getting about at least two and a half cups of vegetables a day, and most Americans are falling way short of that.

Tiffany Robinson (04:39.138)
What is your advice? we, a lot of us are falling short of meeting how many vegetables we need a day. What are some ways that make it easy to put that into our everyday snacking and meals, especially making something easy for our caregivers to be able to provide to their clients?

Joan Salge Blake (04:56.359)
Yes. Let me tell you a big secret out there and then let me correct a big myth. Canned and frozen vegetables are as nutrient rich as fresh. In fact, sometimes Tiffany, canned and frozen may be better than fresh. And I'll give you an example, Tiffany, and I know you've done this. You'll go and you'll buy broccoli at the supermarket, right? Beautiful, vibrant green broccoli. gorgeous.

You go home and you open the refrigerator and you put it in the vegetable drawer of your refrigerator, which I call the produce graveyard. Okay? It goes in there and you never ever remember that it's in there. By the time you pull it out, it's now that vibrant green any longer. It's combat green. Okay? So now you say, my goodness, all those water soluble vitamins, they have been oxidated because of the air and they're not there as robustly. Now.

Let's go back to canned. Canned vegetables are canned a mile away from where they are picked and harvest. Frozen or flash frozen, equally close to where they are grown. So those nutrients are sealed in. In fact, the canned vegetables can stay on your shelf for six months and those water soluble vitamins will still be within the can. Frozen, perfectly flash frozen, nutrients have been

frozen in, but what I love about canned and frozen vegetables is that they're all cleaned, chopped, and ready to go. It's like having Rachel Ray in your cupboards. know, and so you don't really have to do anything. And for caretakers that really have to do other things, activities of daily living, as you just mentioned, you know, let's make it really easy in the kitchen for you to get a healthy meal on the table.

Tiffany Robinson (06:54.818)
think that's huge. A lot of us think that it has to be something that's fresh from the grocery store, and we can do this maybe even sometimes in a more affordable way by looking at freezer and canned options. Exactly.

Joan Salge Blake (07:06.201)
my goodness, Tiffy, have you gone food shopping lately? hello. Hello. I mean, eggs. When did eggs start costing like filet mignon? I mean, it's just out of control. So here I'm going to give you something else. Canned vegetables are 80 % cheaper than fresh and frozen are 50 % cheaper than fresh. So right there you have vegetables that the nutrition is in there. Easy prep.

Tiffany Robinson (07:15.445)
Exactly.

Joan Salge Blake (07:35.597)
easy on the wallet and you can stock them. So in other words, none of this going to the grocery store every day to get vegetables. Buy fresh, use it up immediately, and then the rest of the week go to can of frozen as your backup to get them on your plate at all meals.

Tiffany Robinson (07:53.174)
A lot of our clients, don't necessarily have access to going to a market, the grocery store a couple times a week. So thinking about frozen and canned items is great. They may go to a grocery store and the items that they're purchasing that day may need to cover them for two weeks. So this is huge to consider that and to kind of maybe take away that myth that we all think fresh is the only thing that's gonna give us nutrients.

Joan Salge Blake (08:10.343)
That's right.

Joan Salge Blake (08:19.525)
Right, fresh is not always best. Remember that.

Tiffany Robinson (08:23.478)
You mentioned something a few moments ago about protein. So for me, being in the home care world, we talk a lot about muscle mass and fall risk. so protein seems to go hand in hand with that. I know I've heard a statistic of we want to have 90 grams of protein per day. That can seem like a lot. That can seem like a big, you know, mountain to climb each day. What are some tips that you have to help everyone, but also our aging population, our caregiver

Joan Salge Blake (08:26.311)
Mm-hmm.

Tiffany Robinson (08:53.452)
that are preparing these meals.

Joan Salge Blake (08:55.325)
Absolutely. So what you want to have, you know, minimum of 60 grams a day, and it can be up to 90, what you want to do is have the protein distributed throughout the day. And this is, Tiffany, where we get it wrong. A lot of us bank our protein intake for dinner. You know, that's our big meal. Don't do that. Okay, put protein in throughout the day at breakfast, at lunch and dinner, and also at snacks.

when you divide it out like that, really, the number is quite easy to obtain at each meal and snack. I'll give you an example. Milk, right? Milk is a great source of protein, low-fat or skim milk. You can have that with breakfast, you know, in your coffee. You know, in fact, like a latte has...

almost two-thirds of a cup of milk in it. So make your morning coffee more milk than coffee, and even if it's decaf, to get some protein in on the get-go. You have things like beans, which are a great source of protein. Here you go, on the canned beans. And what you can do is drain them and Tiffany, a lot of people are worried about the sodium in the canned beans.

This is a trick. Okay, you can buy low sodium canned beans, but you know something? They're gonna cost about 50 % more than regular canned beans. Okay? And so let's not waste our money. You take those canned beans, you dump them in a colander in your sink, you run them under tap water, and you run them under there and get them all washed up, and that can remove 40 % of the added sodium.

that's in those beans. Okay, and that's huge because basically you're getting low sodium canned beans at the regular bean price. Again, they're all cooked, ready to go. You could add them to lunchtime soups or salads, put them in beans with your rice or your pasta if you're having that at dinnertime. Great sources to get the beans in there. Also, not only beans and protein, fiber.

Joan Salge Blake (11:08.797)
which is another problem we'll probably get into a little on this podcast. Another great way, and we want to get more protein in that's affordable and good for you, let's look at fish. And people say, oh no, I can't cook fish. I don't know how to cook fish. I don't want the whole kitchen smelling like fish. Please, no fish. Okay, so go to the canned food aisle. Here we go again. Canned salmon, canned tuna.

Okay, great sources of omega-3 fatty acids, which you know is very heart-healthy, wonderful, polyunsaturated fat that we need more of in our diet. Again, most Americans are not getting the recommended minimum two servings of fish meals a week because they're like, I don't know how to cook it, I don't want it for dinner. Have it for lunch. Open up that canned salmon, the canned tuna, put it on the salad, put it on the sandwich, whatever you want.

leftovers, put it in rice if you have like leftover rice or pasta and use that to get an excellent source of protein, excellent source of those omega-3 fatty acids at a very affordable price.

Tiffany Robinson (12:21.272)
That's great advice. I love to hear that. What are some other protein options that people can go to? I think we immediately always are thinking that protein is meat. And I know you've talked a little bit about beans and you've talked about milk. What are some other options that we can go to?

Joan Salge Blake (12:37.149)
Okay, I'm going to tell you a secret, Looking between us, you and I, and everybody that's listening. One of the best sources of protein is, you ready? Drum roll. Cottage cheese. Now let me tell you, yes, I see. I knew that was going to happen, Tiffany. You're going to have that reaction. So cottage cheese, the reason why it's cottage cheese is excellent source of protein, unbelievably affordable. Everybody grew up on cottage cheese.

Tiffany Robinson (12:50.925)
Wow.

Joan Salge Blake (13:05.069)
My grandmother ate it, my mother ate it, I eat it, we all have cottage cheese. But in cottage cheese is this amino acid called leucine. And what this amino acid is very, very important in helping to synthesize the creation of muscle mass. It's almost like the secret weapon. It's also in soy. So edamame, you know, can get frozen edamame.

again ready and ready to go. That's a great source of protein. You can add that to soups, salads, meals, whatever. Good source of leucine too. So cottage cheese. Now what's beautiful about cottage cheese, it can eat beaten at every meal. All right? Yes, every meal. And it's a fabulous snack. So when we talk about getting this protein throughout the day and distributing it throughout the day, cottage cheese for 3 p.m. snack, a little...

Tiffany Robinson (13:44.011)
Absolutely.

Joan Salge Blake (13:56.739)
You know, canned pineapples on top. You think you're in Hawaii. It's really, really a refreshing, refreshing snack. Way to get some great protein into your diet.

Tiffany Robinson (14:08.312)
That's great. I know you also mentioned fiber. Can you give us some more tips on making sure that these older clients, this older population is getting the fiber that they need?

Joan Salge Blake (14:10.973)
Yes.

Joan Salge Blake (14:17.265)
Yes. Yes. Okay. We'll go back to beans. See, when I get beans, I get a lot of bang for my buck. I get protein. I get fiber. I get potassium. Potassium is a nutrient. It's called a fall short nutrient. What that means is that many Americans are falling short of it in their diet. So it is a wonderful, wonderful, high fiber, high protein, high

type food, so I get three for the price of one for that. Whole grains. Let's go back to the morning. Okay, so we said that milk was a wonderful way to get protein in the diet. Okay, now what I love about that, you know, I always judge a food by the company that they keep. And we have whole grain cereals in the morning for breakfast. And the company they keep,

is skim milk and fruit. Hello! Fruit's gonna give you the fiber, the skim milk is gonna give you the protein, and it's gonna give you the potassium, and I'm we're gonna talk in a minute about calcium and vitamin D. So I've got a really nice breakfast in the morning that is unbelievably nutrient dense for not a lot of money. So whole grain cereals, whole grain breads,

Oats in the morning, if you're oatmeal, you know, a great source, very affordable, good source of high fiber, and the fruits and vegetables. Having whole fruits and whole vegetables will be a fiber powerhouse.

Tiffany Robinson (15:58.68)
That's great, that's great advice. Let's continue on, let's talk about calcium and vitamin D.

Joan Salge Blake (16:03.485)
Okay, yes, okay. We want to keep those bones strong, all right? So calcium is, you you want to make sure that you're having enough calcium in your diet so that you are not withdrawing calcium from your bones. Think, Tiffany, of your bones like a big ATM machine, okay? So when you have an ATM machine and all you're doing is withdrawing money,

and not putting money into the bank, but just withdrawing it. We know you're going to have a problem, okay? Because when it's only going one way, that bank account is going to go down. So when we talk about calcium, it's your bones are like an ATM. We really want to leave all the calcium that you have already stored in the bones there. Treat them for reserves because that's going to keep your bones really strong.

So the way to do that is you have to make sure that you're getting enough calcium in your diet to meet your needs, which go up as you get older, so you don't make these premature withdrawals from those bones. So we're talking about calcium-rich foods. Back to the milk. If you're not a milk drinker, what...

The best substitute for milk is soy milk. Why? Because soy milk has been fortified with calcium and vitamin D just like cow's milk. So you're going to get that. Soy milk is also a very good source of protein. Cow's milk is a good source of protein. These almond milks, these oat milks, I don't even know how you milk an oat, but that's a whole nother episode, but they're not going to have as much

Tiffany Robinson (17:54.53)
You

Joan Salge Blake (17:58.109)
protein nor are they always fortified with calcium and vitamin D. So it's not always an even swap, but soy milk is. So if you don't have dairy milk, please go to soy milk to get all those benefits. So, you know, another fabulous source, you know, I'm a very efficient shopper. I grew up in New Jersey. I know how to shop. Is

Canned tuna, canned salmon is a phenomenal source of calcium and vitamin D. Yes, so when you get that salmon on the salad that's in the can that you didn't have to cook, you're not only getting protein, you're not only getting those omega-3s, you're gonna get calcium and you're gonna get vitamin D. And there are very few foods that really are robust sources of vitamin D other than these fatty fish.

Tiffany Robinson (18:30.145)
Really?

Joan Salge Blake (18:53.443)
and the milk or the fortified soy milk. So again, great ways to double up that when you have that salmon, you're getting the protein, the calcium, the vitamin D and fabulous flavor and the omega-3s.

Tiffany Robinson (19:07.96)
What are your thoughts about supplements? You've given so many great examples on how we may not need a supplement when we're kind of following these and you're getting so many benefits from just one item, but what about supplements? Does that have a place?

Joan Salge Blake (19:10.269)
Sure. Yes.

Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

Joan Salge Blake (19:19.825)
Yes, right, right. Yes, supplements are to supplement a healthy diet. So supplements on top of an unhealthy diet isn't going to do a lot for you. Okay, so food first, we have a healthy diet. But then depending upon your medical history, your personal history of your foods, your medicines that you're on, okay, that's very important, you may need a supplement.

highly recommend is to make sure that we get this cleared by the healthcare provider. Because everybody's on different medications and there's certain interactions, so just don't go out and get all this and go and get cleared from somebody, from a healthcare provider. then yes, may be like vitamin D would be something that may be in a supplement. You can make vitamin D from sunshine going out there, but a lot of people don't go outside.

Tiffany Robinson (19:57.623)
Right.

Joan Salge Blake (20:19.227)
And then what do they tell you when you go outside to put sunscreen on? Well, if you put sunscreen on, that's going to block your body's ability to make vitamin D. But we don't want skin cancer. So I got mixed messages going on there. So that's why, depending on the diet and the lifestyle, a vitamin and mineral supplement may be very much suitable for you. But let's get medical clearance on

Tiffany Robinson (20:25.742)
Right.

Tiffany Robinson (20:44.334)
perfect. Now, let's talk about managing dietary restrictions. We get clients where there's a low sodium diet or there's a diabetic diet. What are some tips on helping caregivers meet those needs?

Joan Salge Blake (20:48.849)
Mm-hmm.

Yes. Right.

Joan Salge Blake (20:57.967)
Okay. So, people that have diabetes, this is another good secret that a lot of people don't know about. Many times, depending on your medical diagnosis, heart disease, hypertension, high blood pressure, you have to watch the sodium you diet and maybe add more potassium rich foods, people that are managing diabetes. So, you're going to have certain diet protocols that you may want to have more of and then less of.

Many, many insurance companies have the ability to pay a registered dietitian visit. Check with your insurance companies. Check with your medical care provider. You may be a co-pay away from having a visit with a registered dietitian nutritionist who could say, based on your medicine, based on your health history, let's do this, let's have more this in your diet and have less of that.

We know that a diet, you can go to a diet and look at myplate.gov. And this is great for healthcare providers to get a visual of what a plate should look like. And that's gonna be a quarter protein, a quarter grains, half of those grains, whole grains, and half of it basically produce with a lot of vegetables. And then a serving of dairy. And that's sort of what your plate should look like.

When you go on there, put in MyPlate for older adults, and you're going to get some wonderful tips to help people who are caring for older adults what they should have in their diet. If you are a person with diabetes on insulin medication, you should be talking with a registered dietitian to make sure that your food intake matches your medication, especially if it's insulin.

You know, because insulin is good, it gets put in and it's going to lower your blood glucose levels like it should because maybe your body's not able to make insulin as the way it did when you were younger. But you've got to match that with correct food intake and it's all about amount and timing. So I recommend that people, you know, look to get that resource and see if it's available. To find a registered dietitian nutritionist in your area.

Joan Salge Blake (23:22.437)
you can go to eatright.org, eatright is one word, .org, and up in the corner, it says, find an RDN. You can click on that, drop down box, put it in your state, and then you can find a local RDN in your area and then reach out and figure out, you know, is this covered by insurance? You know, what's the story? Talk to your medical care provider again first so that

that person is informed of what you're doing. So left hand is talking to the right hand. And you can get that kind of support for as little as a copay away.

Tiffany Robinson (24:01.836)
That is great advice. And I think something that people don't even realize may be available or covered for them. So that can be huge. Now, let's talk a little bit about weight. We may have a client who needs to lose weight. We may have a client that needs to gain weight. What does managing weight look like with older adults?

Joan Salge Blake (24:08.689)
Right, they don't. Mm-hmm, mm-hmm.

Joan Salge Blake (24:15.089)
Hmm?

Joan Salge Blake (24:22.779)
Right. So again, as I mentioned, that you need less calories, you know, going on 50, 60, 70, than you did when you were 20, 30. So if you need less calories to begin with, and so there's a short window where cutting back on calories may be very challenging because you're not starting with a lot of calories to begin with.

Some people just need maybe 16, 1800 calories a day. So there's not a lot of wiggle room to say I'm going to cut back on what I'm going to, you know, an intake. Because if you cut back on what you eat in Tiffany, here we go, I have less chance to get nutrient-rich foods in the diet. So it's like a double-edged sword there. Exercise is a beauty, movement is really good. Again, you want to be looking at the restrictions of that patient.

Tiffany Robinson (25:04.206)
right?

Joan Salge Blake (25:16.241)
And that's another thing where maybe a consultation with a physical therapist to say, okay, based upon your abilities to do X, Y, and Z, this is what I would recommend for you for movement. It could be movement outside, it could movement in the house, it could be chair exercises, whatever, to get some physical activity. Weight gain is an issue too. And so again, having more nutritious meals and snacks throughout the

day is going to give more variety and circumstances where they can get some nutritious calories into their diet. So maybe smaller frequent meals may be a bonus for people who are trying to gain weight.

Tiffany Robinson (26:03.106)
That's a great, that's a great idea to across the whole day. It doesn't feel like they're eating this very large meal that can feel very difficult. That's great advice. Let's talk a little bit about picky eaters. How do we work with picky eaters and trying to make sure they have the nutrition that they need.

Joan Salge Blake (26:08.037)
Right.

Right.

Joan Salge Blake (26:19.997)
Right. Okay, so again, and you should, the caretaker should be saying, what do you like to eat? Because it's all about, let's put some joy in every eating situation. So what do you like to eat? And, you know, I don't like vegetables. Okay. You know, that's good. Okay. So then maybe, well, do you like, you know, like chocolate shakes? Oh, okay. I can do that. I can do chocolate shakes. Okay. So what you're going to do is you're going to take, you know,

Tiffany Robinson (26:27.882)
Exactly.

Joan Salge Blake (26:49.681)
Cocoa, and you're going to take milk and some yogurt and then blend in some vegetables that can be blended in like spinach. Or if they don't like fruit, let's go back to that frozen food aisle, get berries. You take berries in a blender with some milk, yogurt, good source of calcium, protein, vitamin D, okay, great, great, great, great. Frozen berries, a little bit of cocoa, my goodness gracious, you are in Hershey, Pennsylvania.

and as happy as a little clam. So we could get them in, you know, through smoothies and blenders. We can get them in soups. You know, there's something very comforting about soups. yes, so this is how I make homemade soup. This is my homemade soup recipe. I take two cans of my favorite vegetable soup. Okay, two cans of that. I go over to the freezer, open a big bag of frozen vegetables.

Tiffany Robinson (27:32.288)
Absolutely.

Joan Salge Blake (27:47.633)
I put the soup, the veggies, I open up two cans of beans, do that whole running water trick to get the sodium. I put it in a pot, maybe get some canned diced tomatoes in a pot and I have got homemade soup. I have got homemade soup and for nothing easy and it's a great way. They say they don't like vegetables, but they like soup.

Tiffany Robinson (28:13.473)
it.

Joan Salge Blake (28:13.757)
So you make this, what do you care if they chew it or slurp it? You know, as long as they're getting it in, it's a phenomenal way to sneak in vegetables into their diet. Also, pasta dishes, casserole. Casserole are something a lot of older adults grew up on. They do. Like a shepherd's pie. Oh, shepherd's pie. I see my grandmother.

Tiffany Robinson (28:34.989)
Right.

Joan Salge Blake (28:41.511)
Remember shepherd's pie with the potatoes, mashed potatoes and the green beans, and the corn. Okay, so what you do with that is layer more vegetables in that grandma's shepherd's pie. So they get, you know, the mashed potatoes, but they get maybe canned corn, they get canned green beans, you know, you can put, you know, other tomatoes, would can't, canned tomatoes in there, and then the meat or whatever you want to put on the ground turkey, ground beef or whatever. So that you really...

fortify that casserole with a lot of nutrient rich foods. Also, I'm big on cook once, eat three to four times. So I make like a casserole that can feed an army. And then what I'll do is divide it up into portions and put it in the freezer, you know, so I'll have some during the week, put it in the freezer. And then next week, I'm not making that, you know,

Tiffany Robinson (29:21.42)
Yes.

Joan Salge Blake (29:36.477)
you know, casserole over again. I'm pulling that baby out of the freezer and heating it up. And so again, also as a caretaker, I don't have to cook that baby.

Tiffany Robinson (29:47.608)
Absolutely.

Joan Salge Blake (29:48.861)
So you can get many meals by cooking big and then dividing them up.

Tiffany Robinson (29:54.318)
That's a great idea. We have clients where we may not go see them every single day, so they may need some grab and go options throughout the week. So making a larger meal, making that pot of soup like you talked about, that sounds like it would just take a few minutes to toss together and you have where they can grab a meal. It's nutritious, it's quick, it's easy. Absolutely.

Joan Salge Blake (30:18.555)
and microwavable, so it's easy to reheat. So really, having these backup foods available to them, when they open that refrigerator, Tiffany, put what they want to eat at eye level, the milk, the yogurts on the top, get that soup, make it available, any fresh fruit that you may have in there, apples or whatever, peaches, whatever, grapes are really wonderful.

make it eye accessible, the leftover meals that are covered. And then, so they see that, reminded of it, and then open up that freezer and see all that backup. And what they can do is date the backup. So you say, okay, I put this in today, know, May 2nd, you know, and so they rotate it and, know, first in, first out, you know, that you put it in and then you take that out by your dating code so that you, you know, you use up your inventory.

Tiffany Robinson (31:16.268)
great, great advice for us to follow.

This has been such a great conversation with you. I think so many people could benefit from having, like you mentioned, a visit with a nutrition expert that can even customize to their taste, their conditions. I think this is really important. As we wrap up our conversation, can you remind us why good nutrition equals better quality of life for seniors?

Joan Salge Blake (31:46.493)
You need to feed and fuel your body with the nutrients it needs to function on activities of daily living. You said that in the beginning. You need to keep those bones strong. So if for some reason you fall, we reduce the risk of a fracture. You need to keep those muscles fed. You need to keep those vitamins and minerals and antioxidants going in your body to fight inflammation. And let's remember,

It's not nutrition unless you eat it. So make sure the food is tasty and a food that you enjoy so that you can deliciously feed your body.

Tiffany Robinson (32:29.986)
That's awesome. Where can our listeners find more of your work and resources?

Joan Salge Blake (32:35.389)
Okay, well, I have a podcast. It's called Spot On. Spot On is an exclamation point at it. And it's on any major podcast platform, Spotify, Apple, and you can just search for it. It's a tomato with a headphone around the tomato, okay? So that's what it looks like. basically, Tiffany, I started this podcast for the same reasons that bring me joy.

Tiffany Robinson (32:55.971)
You

Joan Salge Blake (33:04.517)
and is to take my nutrition expertise and fit it into the lifestyles of those who hear about it and to make nutrition delicious and easy to digest. So that's my goal.

Tiffany Robinson (33:21.056)
Awesome. Thank you so much, Dr. Seljie Blake. Your thoughts and knowledge have left us with some great insights on why healthy, nutritious meals are so important. Thank you.

Joan Salge Blake (33:31.431)
Thank you.