Coyote Nutrition Counseling

🎉 We’re Back! FREE Nutrition Counseling is Here! 🥗✨

Ready to feel your best? Our team is here to support you with personalized nutrition guidance — at no cost to you!

💚 We can help you:
✔️ Make healthy lifestyle changes
✔️ Build balanced, realistic meal plans
✔️ Improve your overall diet
✔️ Manage your weight in a healthy way
✔️ Eat healthy on a budget
✔️ Create sustainable habits that last

📍 PDC – IW-307 (Indian Wells Building)
🕗 Tuesdays: 8 AM – 12 PM & 4 – 6 PM
🕘 Thursdays: 9 – 11 AM
🕙 Fridays: 10 AM – 12 PM

📍 SBC – PS-322 (Physical Science Building)
🕗 Mondays: 8 – 9 AM, 12 – 1 PM, 4 – 6 PM
🕗 Tuesdays: 8 AM – 2 PM
🕗 Wednesdays: 8 – 9 AM, 12 – 1 PM
🕗 Thursdays: 8 AM – 6 PM
🕗 Fridays: 8 AM – 4 PM

📧 Email: [email protected] or [email protected]

(Be sure to include PDC or SBC in the subject line to help us schedule you!)

🚶 Walk-ins are welcome!

Our services are available to students, staff, and faculty.

Let’s work together to fuel your success 💪🥑

Have you ever been told that you are anemic? While anemia comes in many forms, iron-deficient anemia is one of the most widespread forms. It affects toddlers, children, adolescents, and adults of all ages and can come with a cost!

Iron is needed by all living organisms, it's especially crucial for human health as it helps carry oxygen to all of our cells!

There are various food sources of Iron: Red Meat🥩, Nuts and Seeds🥜, Leafy Green Vegetables🥬🥦, and Legumes.

It is important to know that iron from plant sources is known as Non-Heme Iron and is in a different form than iron from animal sources, Heme Iron. Heme (Fe2+) iron is more bioavailable as it does not need to undergo hydrolysis compared to its counterpart, Non-Heme (Fe3+), to be absorbed by the small intestine.

❤️Iron-deficient anemia occurs when there is a problem getting enough iron, whether it be with absorption issues or with lack of consumption. Anemia comes on slowly to start but can become a serious concern, with dizziness, weakness, and fatigue.

🦴Iron is stored in the bones, liver, spleen, red blood cells, and a few other locations. This is why it takes some time to become fully anemic, as you have to use up all of your iron stores, including from the bones.

🛑Conversely, iron can also exist in excess in our bodies, primarily due to a genetic condition known as hemochromatosis. This condition results in the body being unable to gauge iron levels. Hemochromatosis is treated with regular blood removal throughout a patient's lifetime to keep serum levels less than 30 micrograms/liter.

The recommended dietary allowance for Iron is:
👉Men: 8mg/day
Women:
👉Postmenopause: 18 mg/day
👉Premenopause: 8 mg/day
👉Pregnancy: 27 mg/day
👉Lactation: 9 mg/day
🛑NOT TO EXCEED: 35 mg/day (tolerable upper limit)


💭

Source: Stipanuk, M. H., & Caudill, M. A. (2019). Biochemical, physiological, and molecular aspects of human nutrition (4th ed.) Elsevier Saunders.
pg. 824-848

Vanadium, a trace mineral found in the environment, plays a crucial role in your health. From influencing insulin sensitivity to supporting enzyme reactions, vanadium may have a bigger impact on your well-being than you think!

💡 How Vanadium Works:

Mimics insulin to help glucose metabolism 🍞⚡

Competes with phosphate in vital enzymatic reactions 🔄

Stored in essential organs like the liver, kidneys, spleen, and thyroid gland 🏥

🍽️ Top Food Sources of Vanadium:
🍄 Mushrooms – High content
🦪 Shellfish – Moderate content
🌶️ Black Pepper – Moderate content
🌿 Parsley – Low content
🌾 Whole Grains – Low content

💪 Health Benefits & Risks:
May help regulate blood sugar 🩸
Potentially supports bone health 🦴

⚠️ Caution: Excessive intake can lead to toxicity - While there is no method yet of assessing the body's Vanadium status, it is important to know that there is a Tolerable Upper Limit of 1.8 mg of elemental Vanadium. The most common demographic Vanadium toxicity is found in miners due to exposure. 🚨

Human requirements for Vanadium have not been established; however, recommended intake is estimated at 6 to 18 µg/day or 6-18 MICROgrams per day.🤏

Get ready to learn!! Your Coyote Nutrition Counselors are starting a series on ✨ Micronutrients ✨

When it comes to our diet, we always want to make sure we are hitting enough vitamins and minerals which often get disregarded in many people’s intraday meals. It’s important to understand the 5 pillars of the food plate which are Grains, Protein, Dairy, Fruits and Vegetables are the natural sources of optimizing our nutrition.

Enhancing your current meals can take many forms and for starters you want to evaluate your meals and ask yourself , “What here is rich in vitamins?”. Many of the animal-based foods will have essential micronutrients associated, however they don’t cover all of it. A common theme amongst younger generations is the belief that they need to simply just eat chicken and rice or beef rice for the benefit that they will develop their gains, however micronutrients become the rate limiting resource that our body requires. Overtime, that typical diet will wear out in desire and become not enjoyable over many meals consumed of the same dish. Switching the carbohydrate and protein sources, adding in vegetables and fruits all together may not sound appealing at first, but you can adjust how additional ingredients are prepared so it can meet your palatability desires.

Protein does not have to derive from animal foods mainly, as routinely consuming plant-proteins like seeds, nuts, and legumes allows your palatability to expand and receive additional nutrients that may not be available in red meats, poultry or dairy products. Consuming different species of fish also contributes to protein variation since they contain essential fats and proteins that our body cannot produce on its own without consumption of these products.

As a little tip when it comes to preparing your meals, you typically would want 3-5 different natural colors of food in your meals. The reason behind this recommendation is that Vitamins often produce a natural color when our vision strikes these foods. An orange carrot gives off the color orange which is associated with beta-carotenes along with red and yellow, which is Vitamin A. Others include the many B-vitamins that are present in leafy vegetables as well as Vitamin K or the multitude of fruits that are full of Vitamin C antioxidants. Consuming frequent meals of color variation can be a healthy sign that you are receiving adequate micronutrients and less at risk of deficiency.

Everyone loves a desert of their own and we all have our own go-to when we feel like we deserve it. Most of these dishes are full of delicious carbohydrates and fats but if you want to feel balanced, fruits can be the best pairing to your palate because of their natural sweetness. Next time you have your desert, try experimenting with 1-3 fruits to see what works best so you can receive the most nutrients from your meals.

Introducing your Student Nutrition Counselor Coordinators: Ali and Adrianna

About Ali: Hi! My name is Ali, and I’m a first-year Master’s student in Nutrition Science. I’m passionate about helping people reach their nutrition and health goals in a way that feels sustainable and empowering. I love combining science with real-world strategies to make healthy living approachable for everyone, and I’m excited to keep growing in this field!

About Adrianna: As a first-year MSNS student, I strongly believe in the role nutrition plays in our health. In addition to being a student, I am also a Doula, Mother of two boys, and Wife. I hope to provide support and guidance as one of the Nutrition Counselor Coordinators at CSUSB!

The Mediterranean diet is a healthy eating plan inspired by the traditional cuisines of countries bordering the Mediterranean Sea. It emphasizes plant-based foods, healthy fats, and moderate consumption of lean proteins. Here's a breakdown of the diet and some simple dishes you can try:

Key Components of the Mediterranean Diet

Plant-based foods: The foundation of the diet includes vegetables, fruits, whole grains, legumes, nuts, and seeds.

Healthy fats: Olive oil is the primary source of added fat.

Lean proteins: Fish and seafood are consumed regularly, while poultry, eggs, and dairy are eaten in moderation.

Limited red meat: Red meat is consumed sparingly.

Simple Mediterranean Dishes

Greek Salad:

Combine chopped cucumbers, tomatoes, red onions, and Kalamata olives.
Top with crumbled feta cheese and dress with olive oil and lemon juice.

Hummus with Vegetable Sticks:

Serve store-bought or homemade hummus with carrot sticks, cucumber slices, and bell pepper strips.

Mediterranean Stuffed Peppers:

Fill bell peppers with a mixture of cooked quinoa, diced tomatoes, and crumbled feta.
Bake until peppers are tender.

Baked Lemon Chicken:

Marinate chicken in lemon juice, olive oil, garlic, and oregano.
Bake in the oven until cooked through.

Whole Grain Toast with Avocado:

Top whole grain toast with mashed avocado and a sprinkle of sunflower seeds.

Greek Yogurt Parfait:

Layer plain Greek yogurt with fresh berries and a drizzle of honey.
Top with chopped nuts for added crunch.

These simple dishes incorporate the key elements of the Mediterranean diet and require minimal cooking skills, making them perfect for beginners looking to adopt this healthy eating pattern.