• Our cells communicate messages about mood, appetite, and sleep through the transmission of chemicals called neurotransmitters.

• More than 70 neurotransmitters have been identified. These nerve chemicals impact the way we think, act, and feel.

• When we eat, nutrients such as vitamins, minerals, amino acids, glucose, and fatty acids are digested and absorbed. These nutrients cross the blood brain barrier and interact with brain enzymes which then impact neurotransmitter activity. These nerve chemicals influence brain function impacting our mood, mental health (e.g., stress, anxiety, depression), energy levels, ability to focus, intellectual processes, sleeping habits, appetite regulation (e.g., hunger, fullness), food cravings, etc.

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• Anxiety and depression can lead to an increase or a decrease in appetite, over-eating for emotional comfort, or feeling too tired or anxious to plan and prepare meals and snacks. Both under- and over-eating can result in poor nutritional status, which can impact mental health, mood, energy levels, sleep, appetite, and food cravings.

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• Optimize your energy, mood, and sleep by learning to enjoy all foods that you love without depriving yourself.

• Cultivate awareness, curiosity and compassion for yourself, behaviors, patterns, and thoughts regarding food choices and amounts.

• Develop a personalized and flexible nutrition plan to optimize your overall well-being. This may include meal and snack timing and suggestions, hunger and fullness awareness, how to increase satisfaction and pleasure from food, gentle nutrition information that can be used as a guideline for making food decisions, how to cultivate a positive relationship with food and your body.