Diet and Nutrition

Dr. Oz Promotes New Two-Day Wonder Cleanse

Dr. Oz is promoting a new two-day “Wonder Cleanse,” but it’s not like the popular cleanses you’ve heard of before. Instead of drinking nothing but water, lemon juice and cayenne pepper, you eat foods that naturally rid your body of toxins. That’s where the “cleanse” comes in.

So think of it as more of a hiatus from ice cream and Funyuns and a shift toward pure foods.

And why should we cleanse? According to Dr. Oz, our bodies are constantly being exposed to harmful substances in the environment and in our diet, and it’s important to flush those out so our bodies can get back to operating more efficiently. Think of it as a ‘spring cleaning’ of sorts for the body.

Over the course of a 48-hour period, Dr. Oz encourages participants to eat six meals and eight snacks made from naturally-purifying, delicious ingredients. And the key? Enzymes. (more…)

Posted on March 22, 2024 by Dana

MyNetDiary May Be A Step Above Other Diet Trackers

MyNetDiary is a food diary and calorie counter available online or through a mobile app. Diet tracking apps are very popular and there are several on the market. MyNetDiary feels they have one of the best on the market and they took some time to explain why they feel this way.

“The power of MyNetDiary’s detailed food and exercise tracking service is its ability to document precisely what we eat, how many calories we burn and even when we eat,” explains Katherine Isacks, Registered Dietitian with MyNetDiary, “and people can track calories on-the-go with MyNetDiary’s mobile apps for iPhone, iPad, Android and BlackBerry.”

These functions sound similar to most tracking apps. However, Isacks explained how NyNetDiary takes extra steps in ensure accuracy as many tracking sites allow for user-entered totals on many dishes and foods.

“I absolutely love our humongous database. I can pretty much find any food I want (generic, brand, and restaurant foods).  If I bring up a ‘user contributed’ food versus a system-entered and quality assured food, I can easily identify it as such, and check and edit the values for accuracy. When I played with the other apps, I spent a lot of time trying to figure out which items where user-entered (which means a higher risk of inaccurate values) and which were system-entered.”
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Posted on March 22, 2024 by Lacy

More Stores Stop Selling Ground Beef with Pink Slime

Ground beef that includes what the meat industry calls lean, finely textured beef, or pink slime, has been getting a lot of media coverage lately. Consumers have been avidly asking questions about which grocery stores sell it so that they can avoid it. As consumers continue to voice their concern, grocers are listening.

Safeway, SUPERVALU and Food Lion are the latest grocery stores to make the announcement that they will discontinue carrying ground beef that includes pink slime. Safeway released a statement saying, “While the USDA and food industry experts agree that lean, finely textured ground beef is safe and wholesome, recent news stories have caused considerable consumer concern about this product. Safeway will no longer purchase ground beef containing lean, finely textured beef.”

The list of grocers that are issuing statements regarding their ground beef and whether or not it contains pink slime is growing.

While Safeway is the second largest grocery chain in the country, SUPERVALU is the third largest chain. SUPERVALU controls various grocery stores including Albertson’s, Cub Foods, Farm Fresh, Jewel-Osco, Hornbacher’s and others. Some other heavy hitters like Walmart and Sam’s Club have also made recent announcements that they would stop selling beef that includes pink slime. The nation’s largest grocery store chain is Kroger and they currently offer beef options with and without the product.

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Posted on March 22, 2024 by Descygna

Healthy Across America on a Budget: The Nutritious America Road Trip

By Abra Pappa for NutritiousAmerica.com

3000 miles, 8 days, and 500 bucks to get across the country. Could you do it?

Last week my business partner (and best friend), Karen, and I embarked on an adventure across the country to see if it was possible to eat healthy in as many states as we could for as little money as possible.

For nearly a decade Karen and I have been counseling clients on the benefits of a natural, organic, whole food diet. Our company, Nutritious America, works to inspire people around the country to lose weight and clear up various health problems by changing how and what they eat.

In our work we tend to hear a lot of the same “issues” from clients about their struggle to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Topping the list is, “It’s too expensive” and, “Healthy food is not convenient or readily available.” It was time Karen and I put these “issues” to the test.

We have both lived in large urban environments for over 15 years, where healthy food is readily available. I have a farmers market literally 3 blocks from my apartment, not to mention multiple juice bars, organic restaurants, and a Whole Foods Market all within walking distance. Is healthy food expensive? It depends on how you look at it. I spend money on food. I spend money on healthy food. I live by the philosophy, “pay the farmer today or the doctor tomorrow.” I choose to spend my money on food rather than expensive clothes, shoes, or bags. It’s a choice I make. However, I have always firmly believed that healthy food should be affordable for all people in this country. Is it possible to eat healthy and not break the bank? Is healthy food readily available in small towns across the country?

We wanted to find out. This was clearly just a small sampling. In 8 days we stopped in 8 different cities and had less than $30 per day per person for food. (more…)

Posted on March 22, 2024 by Nutritious_America

Jennifer Lawrence Says ‘No’ to Dieting, Instead Embraces Healthy Figure

Jennifer Lawrence. Ah, that body.

Beautiful, toned and trim. And one of the reasons we’re so envious of it is that it looks natural – like the she stays active and eats well without depriving herself. And naturally, that’s exactly what she does. Lawrence even admits to being OK with looking ‘a little chubby’ on camera if it means being healthy.

That’s what we love to hear as proponents of healthy, balanced living, even though Jennifer’s clearly nowhere near chubby.

According to a recent Daily Mail article, Jennifer believes in feeling healthy and happy over being stick thin. And she doesn’t buy into over-restrictive diets saying, “I’m miserable when I’m dieting, and I like the way I look.”

And her approach to food and exercise are sensible, especially when it came to her preparations for The Hunger Games, which reportedly involved lots of running, and even enduring extensive training in archery from a true Olympian. “I don’t diet. I do exercise! But I don’t diet. You can’t work when you’re hungry, you know?” (more…)

Posted on March 22, 2024 by Dana

Foursquare Names its Healthiest Cities

by Dani Stone

March is National Nutrition Month and the folks at Foursquare have conducted a semi-scientific poll to determine the healthiest cities in America. Foursquare, the free digital social media app that allows its 15 million users to “check in” to restaurants, movie theatres, museums, grocery stores, etc., observed cities with the highest number of check-ins (500,000 or more) to find the healthiest diners.

Not all restaurants were used in the study, of course. Foursquare researchers narrowed down the target market to restaurants considered to be in the nutritious category, as well as salad bars, juice bars, farmers markets and fish markets. Cities that had the highest percentage of check-ins at these locations were considered for the study.

Though California didn’t make the #1 spot, it does get an honorable mention for having the most cities with San Jose, San Diego, Los Angeles and San Francisco making the list. Washington, DC ranks in 9th place. It must be the influence of our fit first lady. So who got top honors? Say aloha to Foursquare’s healthiest city, Honolulu, Hawaii. It’s got to be all that fresh fish.

Oops! On the flipside, the least healthy cities in the U.S. were Winston-Salem, NC, Little Rock, AR and Lexington, KY.
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Posted on March 21, 2024 by Health Buzz

Monsanto’s Genetically Modified Corn Crop Approved for Planting by Government

Monsanto, the multinational agricultural biotechnology corporation and the leading producer of engineered seed, just received government permission to test a large scale genetically modified (GMO) crop experiment. The engineered corn seed from Monsanto will be introduced throughout the country from South Dakota to Texas.

The project includes Monsanto testing their man-made corn variant. These crops are expected to thrive in dry and unfavorable conditions. The company feels their product could revitalize a large portion of the agriculture as many are experiencing abnormal climate conditions.

The first round of tests of the biotech crop are being done on farms owned by Monsanto. If the seed proves to be commercially viable it will be made for purchase in 2024.

This government approval marks a first. This is the first time the US Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Services has allowed the testing of a genetically engineered product that has been tailored to weather conditions such as drought.

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Posted on March 21, 2024 by Lacy

The Food Life Project Offers Hands-On Diet and Health Coaching

In a sea of diet fads and magic weightloss pills, The Food Life Project is a breath of fresh air. It’s a practical, hands-on program all about real people, real food, and real nutrition – no pills, scams or fads about it.

Alison Lewis is the woman behind the project and she’s plenty well qualified for it, too. Among other accomplishments, she’s a culinary nutritionist, cookbook author, blogger, mom of three, and president of her own food media consulting company called Ingredients, Inc.

Alison created the Food Life Project as an extension of her company to educate people in a more personal way about how to utilize food, nutrition and fitness to bring value to their everyday lives. She was inspired to start the project during her time spent at speaking events for corporations, business groups and fitness studios. People would come up to her afterwards asking for more information and help with shopping, cooking, and eating healthy, and she felt there was such a great need in this area that the idea practically bore itself.

The Food Life Project is a culinary coaching business that encompasses grocery store tours, kitchen and pantry cleanses, private cooking classes, individual health/wellness coaching, and small group webinar series coaching. Depending on which service you sign you up for, you’ll receive coaching from Alison via phone, skype, webinar, and even in person.

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Posted on March 21, 2024 by Dana

January Jones Eases Up Her Diet and Workouts to Get Back Her Betty Draper Curves

Mad Men fans are getting very excited! The show finally returns this week after a year and a half hiatus. The female star, January Jones, who plays Betty Draper appears to be ready for the new season. The actress was spotted out and about promoting the show looking fitter than ever as she prepares to play the role she best known for, a 1960’s housewife.

Typically January Jones is known for her curves. Her appearance is meant to mimic that of a healthy woman from the 1960s, not a rail thin woman of this decade. Jones admits to having gotten too thin for the producers’ liking and being forced to eat more and cut back on exercise.

However, last summer, a much thinner Jones walked the red carpet. Jones lost two dress sizes for her role in X Men: First Class. Jones’ character was Emma Frost, a mutant telepath who wore very tight white clothing. In order for Jones to fit into the wardrobe she went on a juice fast. The fast allowed Jones to drop the weight in addition to adding weight training to sculpt her body and make it more like the fictional comic book character she was portraying in the film.

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Posted on March 21, 2024 by Lacy

The Manhattan Diet’s Message Contradicts the Author’s Intent

At first glance of The Manhattan Diet, hitting store shelves today, I was hesitant. My reaction was that it was just feeding the fad diet fire that consumes women in this country, and that could still very well be the case. Not only that, it seemed to glamorize a fad, diet-obsessed lifestyle; even the book’s subtitle refers to “a fabulous life.” However, in my conversation with Eileen Daspin, the book’s author and an award-winning journalist, I learned that her intent for The Manhattan Diet wasn’t a packaged diet per se, but a journalistic glimpse at a lifestyle that keeps many women thin. Once she included a 28-day diet plan without any fitness or nutrition credentials or background, her intent went out the window and the potential for one more dieting bestseller flew in.

Daspin worked on the book two years ago after learning that the women of Manhattan were the thinnest of all of New York City’s five boroughs. She recruited an anonymous group of 25 women who kept diaries of their eating and fitness habits in fine detail. From this, Daspin said she built spreadsheets to help her map out all of the details of these women’s habits and from that defined The Manhattan Diet. The book acts as a sort of American version of French Women Don’t Get Fat, explaining why and how the women of New York City, amongst all that frenetic energy and world’s best pizza, manage to stay slim, fit, and always fabulous. Of the women in New York City I know, it comes from walking more often than cabbing it because it’s more affordable, being conscientious about what they eat (not obsessed), fitting in regular exercise, and not over-indulging in rich desserts, appetizers, and cocktails at every single meal. Again, because they can’t afford it.

“I based [the book] on a way that a group of women I know, not exercise nuts but slim, stay healthy and in shape,” Daspin told me in an interview on the day of the book’s release. “It’s based on real women’s eating habits.” (The definition of “real women” could be loosely defined here.) She then explained the four tenets of the book, which are portion control, eating foods you like (not skimping!), cheating a little, and walking. I like these tenets, they are the foundation of any truly balanced eating plan. But they tend to get overshadowed by some of the more “exercise nut”-style advice doled out in the sometimes breathy 256 pages. (more…)

Posted on March 20, 2024 by Natalie K

Job Burnout Leads to Emotional Eating

Women who are fed up and burnt-out on their jobs are likely to eat more. This probably is not surprising to you, but it has been confirmed by research done in Finland and published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. While most of us want to stop stress eating, we are aware that we do it. Whether you know it or not, there are some good reasons why we do it as well.

Job stress is enough to cause stress eating for most people. Burnout is when job stress becomes a chronic condition and can lead to fatigue, loss of interest or concern, and often mistakes. Burn-out applies to men as well as women; however, this specific study was done with a group of 230 employed women between the ages of 30 and 55. Interestingly, 22 percent of the participants demonstrated some degree of burnout.

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Posted on March 20, 2024 by Brooke Randolph