One Small Bite

What happens when a man who knows everything about nutrition still can’t change? In this episode, David Orozco, MS, RDN, uses the Alimentar persona Raj — a 43-year-old PhD and self-proclaimed Food Philosopher, to explore the hidden connection between high-saturated-fat diets, HPA axis dysregulation, chronic cortisol elevation, sedentary behavior, and cardiovascular disease risk. Drawing on eight peer-reviewed studies, D...

How much protein does a man actually need at 30, at 50, at 70? And what happens when a driven, data-obsessed man turns every meal into a math problem? In this episode, David Orozco, MS, RDN, uses the Alimentar persona Mark, a 49-year-old VP and chronic optimizer, to walk through evidence-based protein recommendations by life stage, the red meat and colon cancer connection, leaner and plant-based alternatives, and the deeper questio...

What actually predicts how long you’ll live? It’s not your body fat percentage or your gym routine. In this episode, David shares a personal story about his 85-year-old friend, Richard. He's a gardener, grandfather, and great-grandfather who’s never set foot in a gym, and Richard connects it to the Harvard Study of Adult Development, the Blue Zones, and the Japanese concepts of Ikigai and Moai. 

Chapter Ma...

This episode challenges the widespread assumption that being lean, ripped, or muscular automatically means being metabolically healthy. Using eight peer-reviewed studies, David walks through the hidden cardiovascular risks behind the “shredded” aesthetic like elevated LDL cholesterol, saturated fat–driven atherogenesis, the metabolically unhealthy normal-weight (MUNO) phenotype, and why heart disease remains the n...

You’ve seen the headlines. You’ve heard the success stories. Maybe you’ve been prescribed a GLP-1 yourself, or you’re thinking about it. But between the hype and the fear, the full picture is hard to find.

In this episode, Dietitian Dude, David Orozco, registered dietitian nutritionist, certified intuitive eating counselor, exercise physiologist, breaks down the GLP-1 conversation in three parts.

First, he nam...

Do you really burn more fat while you sleep? The internet says yes — but the science tells a more nuanced (and more empowering) story. In this episode, Dietitian Dude, David Orozco, breaks down the research on circadian metabolism, substrate oxidation, and the real relationship between sleep and fat loss. Drawing on seven peer-reviewed studies, David explains why sleep quality may matter more than any diet strategy for long-t...

Embracing Movement for Wellness: Beyond the Myths

This episode of the 'One Small Bite' podcast, hosted by David Orozco, a Registered Dietitian and Certified Intuitive Eating Counselor, delves into the misconceptions surrounding exercise, movement, and their impact on health and weight loss. David revisits the conversation with intern Dianna Thomas, an expert in movement and weight loss, focusing on personal experiences with ...

Not so long ago I had a client that came to me wanting to find the best workout routine and diet plan to lose weight and keep it off. She felt the need to find a high intensity daily training fitness plan in order for her to lose the weight and keep it off for good. She was motivated and I remember she told me she had the "willpower" to stick with it this time. However, when she started working with me she discovered the secrete to...

Omega-3s can be a beneficial part of someone's diet, but unfortunately our oceans are being over fished to the point of depletion. What if we had an alternative to those fish oil Omega-3s? What if we could get a renewable and plant-based source of Omega-3s that can be just as healthy for us as the famous EPA and DHA omega-3s we get from fish? 

Well, we can.! 

Listen in today to part two on my discussion on F...

Something so common in the nutrition and health world is this idea of the magic bullet nutrient. Fats in food used to be that magic bullet for me. I used to think that if people could just get higher amounts of monounsaturated and omega-3 fatty acids in their diet, things would be so much better. They’d be able to enjoy food, feel satiated more often, and not overeat. 

Boy was this thinking flawed! 

In this episode, I...

It’s time for Part 2 of what everyone should know about. If you haven’t had a chance to listen to the first episode, please feel free to check it out here at Episode 183. 

Supplements are just that, a supplement needed to deal with a deficiency or an insufficiency. However, they are not food, which we need to survive, and they are not drugs, which are also necessary to help us...

When people tell me supplements are safe because they’re natural, I often tell them that poison ivy is also natural, but you wouldn’t be rubbing it all over your face. This is but one of many problems with supplements, and quite frankly just the way the industry likes it. Supplements are not a life-long solution for nutrition. If it were that easy, why would we need food? 

Come and join me in Part 1 of this two part...

Just like a vegetable or flower garden, living a full and long life requires several key elements to flourish. We know that hard work, dedication, and energy are necessary, but be aware of the things out of our control. For a garden it might be things like the weather, the amount of sunlight, or the critters that enjoy the fruits of your labor first. Longevity requires managing our behaviors like diet, exercising, and sleeping well...

Which is it, live longer or live fuller? What's more important? This is actually some of the conversations I have with many of my clients. We obviously start with nutrition, but quickly move into the 'whys'. Meaning, once we start discussing why we make the food choices we do, life starts revealing itself more and more. However, what we discover is that living longer isn't only about eating the healthiest foods, it's about who we c...

Have you ever tried any of those meal kits or delivery services? What was your experience with them? Did you find them helpful, or were the recipes or meals too confusing or too difficult to make? How long did you stick with it, and was it worth it? 

These questions and more are what I’m going to cover in this podcast episode.

Almost every week I have a client or friend ask me about these meal kits and meal...

Back when I first started as a dietitian, I was on a mission to do two things for my practice ... 
- Create the best meal plans for my clients
- Find the best foods to put in those plans 
I wanted to make sure I could help people improve their health with the best meal plans out there. 

Noble concept, right? Or at least I thought so! 

I used to spend hours calculating all sorts of nutrient...

Inflammation is part of the body's defense mechanism. It is the process by which the immune system recognizes and removes harmful and foreign stimuli and begins the healing process. Inflammation can be either acute or chronic. However, harmful stimuli may not be so foreign, and can actually be induced by ourselves. 

Body shame, weight stigma, weight bias, is sizeism. Sizeism is a prejudice or discrimination on the groun...

I came across this article the other day titled Beyond Hunger: Understanding Food Noise, and I thought “Oh, this is interesting, Food Noise. I wonder if it’s something about intuitive eating or an article about weight-inclusivity.” Well spoiler alert, it isn't. 

Supposedly, this idea of Food Noise is actually a term that has been floating around healthcare and various social channels. But what it is not, is a ...

Do you remember that saying in Jurassic Park when Dr. Alan Grant said “just because you can, doesn’t mean you should.” This has always stuck with me, and is even now more relevant in our digital society. The advent of CGMs (Continuous Glucose Monitors) are going a bit viral these days, so much that people without diabetes are starting to use them. But are they actually necessary? What's the benefit of using one if...