Shawn Stevenson is all over the internet, social media feeds, and bestseller bookshelves with his fresh and relatable takes on family nutrition, microcultures, and attainable health and wellness tips. Today, he joins the show to spotlight his new book, the Eat Smarter Family Cookbook.

We dive right into the deep end, setting the stakes on how seriously he deems our food culture to be at risk, explaining how and why cultures and microcultures affect our health and longevity. We also get Shawn’s backstory, raised in a food desert with rare and concerning health issues of his own – severe asthma, a broken hip while running track, and a degenerative disc disease diagnosis at 20.

From there, Shawn shines a bright light on his miraculous recovery and resulting lifelong dedication to informing and educating the masses on his learnings.

Shawn’s powerful stream of consciousness on these subjects rivals anyone in the game – informed by his rich educational background and familiarity with modern research (see links below), packed with easy everyday tips and recipes, and ignited by a palpable passion to energize people of all walks of live to get moving in the right direction.

We also cover…

(02:00) Inspirations for the Eat Smarter Family Cookbook 

• Lifestyle shifts that occur with a growing family 
• Processed vs. ultra-processed foods 
• Artificial flavors, additive colors, and glyphosate
• Trends in Consumption of Ultraprocessed Foods Among US Youths (Study)
• Commentary on Chronic Disease Prevention in 2022 (Study)
• The Past 200 Years in Diabetes (Study)
• Epigenetic influencers on gene expression 
• Helping families to control the controllables

(22:00) Shawn’s Upbringing, Background & Diagnosis  

• Growing up in a food desert 
• Breaking his hip as a standout track athlete
• Diagnosed with degenerative disc disease
• Taking responsibility for our lives 

(40:00) Getting Serious About Your Menu at Home 

• Exposing your family to real foods 
• Tricky marketing by the ultra processed food industry 
• The impact of blood sugar on your health
• Food scientists have manipulated our desire to eat tasty things
• Flavor as an intelligence advantage

(48:00) Actionable Tips to Transforming Your Microculture 

• Consuming real foods should be enjoyable 
• Eating foods that improve our metabolic health, cognitive function, our sleep quality, etc. 
• How to get kids involved
• Cost vs. convenience vs. nutrition 
• Example-setting power of eating as a family 
• Shared Family Meals Related to the Nutritional Health of Children? (Study)
• Effect of Family Meals on Children’s Fruit and Vegetable Intake (Study)
• Strategies to make family meals rewarding and consistent

Resources:

• Read: Eat Smarter Family Cookbook by Shawn Stevenson
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