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LN

Leah Nguyen, MS, CNS

Meal Planning Editor

Certified Nutrition Specialist with a Master's in Integrative Nutrition. Designs meal systems for busy professionals that balance cost, time, and nutrient density.

Meal SystemsApplied Nutrition

Essays by Leah

micronutrients

The Eight-Glass Hydration Rule Has No Source

The most repeated piece of nutrition advice in modern wellness has no identified scientific origin. The actual hydration recommendations from authoritative bodies look quite different, and they account for sources that the eight-glass rule ignores entirely.

meal-planning

The Mediterranean Diet Isn't a Diet — It's a Default Setting

The most studied dietary pattern in nutrition science was never designed in a laboratory. It emerged from the everyday eating habits of people who were not trying to optimize anything.

meal-planning

Meal Prep for One: A Realistic Weekly System

Most meal prep advice assumes a family of four. Here is a system built for a single person — designed around real refrigerator shelf life, portion economics, and the Sunday evening energy you actually have.

meal-planning

Why Meal Timing Matters Less Than Total Intake

Intermittent fasting, chrononutrition, and the 'eating window' have dominated nutrition discourse. The research tells a more measured story: when you eat matters, but far less than how much.