Diet and Nutrition

Eat 5, Move 10, Sleep 8 to Improve Heart Health

by Dani Stone

Americans spend a lot of money and time trying to get fit and lose weight. We pour over diet books, hire personal trainers, and pay for diet programs that help us count calories and track miles on the treadmill. Dr. Martha Grogan, a cardiologist with the Mayo Clinic and medical editor for the new book Heart Healthy For Life says there’s a simpler equation we can use to achieve a healthy lifestyle and improve heart health. The answer, she says, lies in the simple equation Eat 5, Move 10, Sleep 8.

EAT 5

Eat 5 refers to eating at least 5 servings of fruits and vegetables each day. “The great thing about eating fruits and vegetables, they have all kinds of beneficial effects to your heart and for your health in general,” says Grogan. Working this number in to your daily routine can be quite easy if you make a conscious effort to do so and maybe even plan ahead when you’re at the grocery store. A typical day could look like this: Have a banana with breakfast, a juicy peach as a midday snack alongside a cheese stick, a salad of leafy greens with cucumbers and green pepper for lunch and for dinner, serve a side of asparagus along with lean meat, fish or chicken. Look at that, we actually got 6 servings in there.
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Posted on March 12, 2024 by Health Buzz

The O Magazine Feast: Oprah’s First Ever Food Issue

by Dani Stone

On Tuesday, March 13th, do NOT go to the newsstand hungry because the April issue of Oprah Winfrey’s O, The Oprah Magazine is being advertised as the first ever Food Issue! Inside you’ll find a Q&A with Oprah and longtime partner Stedman Graham where he talks about her cooking skills. Spoiler alert, her skills are awesome. Why wouldn’t they be? She’s Oprah, after all. It’s also jam-packed with recipes. We can almost hear her saying it now in that unmistakable Oprah voice, “YOU get a recipe, YOU get a recipe, you’re all getting RECIPES.”

Oprah is pictured on the front cover with Stedman, who gushes about her saying, “You’re a fantastic cook. You put a lot of love in the work you do, and it crosses over in to the food you make. Anything she cooks, I really enjoy eating and I appreciate it very much.” They are adorable!

This issue is packed with a few of Oprah’s personal recipes including Scrambled Eggs With Herbs And Cheese, Lemon Zest Pasta, O’ Mai Mai Juice and even one inspired by Stedman called the Love Sandwich (recipe below).
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Posted on March 11, 2024 by Health Buzz

Join the 21 Day Chinese Diet Challenge

by Dani Stone

The Chinese, once heralded for their healthy simplistic diet have suddenly begun to lose footing and are now facing the high blood pressure, diabetes and obesity that plague so many American cities- at least that’s what T. Collin Campbell is saying. Campbell, author of The China Study: The Most Comprehensive Study of Nutrition Ever Conducted And The Startling Implications For Diet, Weight Loss and Long Term Health, says the book he wrote for Americans in 2006 is now making another trip back East where it began. He’s even enlisting Chinese celebrities to help him launch a 21 Day Chinese Challenge.

In The China Study, Campbell reveals findings from comprehensive health and nutrition surveys conducted in the ‘80s and ‘90s by a research group including his son. After looking at responses from over 2,500 counties across China and Taiwan they correlated a direct link between diet and heart disease, diabetes and cancer. People living in rural China were often healthier than their city-dwelling counterparts because although they had less money for food, they ate off the land reducing their intake of carcinogens, preservatives and fructose.

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Posted on March 10, 2024 by Health Buzz

The Manhattan Diet Controversy

by Dani Stone

A new diet book is slated to hit store shelves on March 20, 2024 and the buzz surrounding its release is already ripe with controversy. Eileen Daspin’s The Manhattan Diet: Lose Weight While Living A Fabulous Life is filled with interviews from Eileen’s fit friends and promises healthy recipes from famous chefs including Tom Colichio, Eric Ripert and Mario Batali. Although the general idea surrounding the book seems to be eat fresh, eat less (a lot less) and move more, it is the “tone” that seems to be rubbing people the wrong way.

Eileen, who lives in Manhattan and is married to executive chef Cesare Casella says her inspiration for the book came after reading a story in the New York Times about Manhattan being the thinnest borough, and in fact, skinniest of all 62 counties in New York State. Having been, “on a diet since the age of 12,” she was no stranger to “food obsession” and set out to find like-minded friends who might share their tips and tricks for healthy living.

There is a modicum of information in the book that is sensible including buying fresh vegetables, planning meals ahead of time, cooking good food in bulk to have on-hand, eating smaller portions and keeping food triggers out of the pantry. The author even advocates giving in to cravings once in a while, but the women interviewed described their “cheat foods” not as cupcakes or buffalo dip but rather tidbit cheats such as a single Tootsie Roll pop or 3.5 Twizzlers.
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Posted on March 9, 2024 by Health Buzz

Fructose Research Does Not Change Perception of HFCS

A couple of weeks ago Medpage Today published an article titled Fructose May Not Be Culprit in Weight Gain which seems to contradict the Princeton research that found considerable more weight gain from ingesting high fructose corn syrup (HFCS). Even when caloric intake was the same, rats gained more weight when eating HFCS than table sugar. Diets in Review has consistently spoken out against high fructose corn syrup as an unhealthy genetically modified food. Fructose and HFCS are not exactly the same as Tanvir Hussain, physician and adjunct professor of bioethics at Pepperdine University School of Law, points out, “[the study] did not include high fructose corn syrup in their analysis, but only simple fructose. Thus it would be difficult to make conclusions about high fructose corn syrup and weight gain based on this particular study. Nonetheless, the results do call into question the hypothesis that fructose disproportionately contributes to weight gain over other carbohydrates.”

Those are exactly the questions that have been posed to me – does this mean that HFCS is not bad for you?

Ann A. Rosenstein clearly explains the difference between sugar and HFCS, saying, “HFCS is an industrial food product and far from “natural” or a naturally occurring substance. It is extracted from corn stalks through a process so secret that Archer Daniels Midland and Carghill would not allow the investigative journalist Michael Pollan to observe it for his book The Omnivore’s Dilemma. The sugars are extracted through a chemical enzymatic process resulting in a chemically and biologically novel compound called HFCS.”

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Posted on March 9, 2024 by Brooke Randolph

Obesity Might Involve More Than Calories In, Calories Out

by Arleigh Aldrich

More and more studies are surfacing with the argument that it’s not just how much we eat that is fueling obesity, but what we’re eating. For years, scientists and nutritionists have adhered to the “calories in, calories out” model, in which one loses weight by burning more calories than they intake. Now researchers are asking if pollutants that make their way into our food affect that model.

The culprits on trial are called “obesogens,” a new term coined to describe organic pollutants such as pesticides for crops and slimicides for water purification. Here’s the question: If I consume a diet with ingredients exposed to obesogens containing X amount of calories, will it cause me to gain more weight than if my diet didn’t contain those pollutants?

Bruce Blumberg, professor of developmental and cell biology and pharmaceutical sciences at the University of California, says yes. Blumberg coined the term obesogens and claims they have an effect on how the body responds to calories and stores fat. In his study, one group of rats was fed a diet which contained the pollutants tributyltin and triphenyltin, and the other fed a diet with the same amount of calories, sans the pollutants. He found the rats who were fed the pollutants were found to have larger and higher quantities of fat cells.

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Posted on March 9, 2024 by Health Buzz

Jamie Oliver Reacts Strongly to Comments about his Weight

Food Revolution leader Jamie Oliver may have stuck his foot in his mouth this week while giving an interview in Australia.

Jamie Oliver, the celebrity chef, cookbook author, and health advocate was in Australia to promote his partnership with the government to address the nation’s obesity issues. While giving an interview with a female NBC News journalist, Oliver got very defensive with one of her questions after she asked if he had gained weight.

“I don’t know. I am very healthy. I think the last time I had a filling in my teeth, which was quite recently, I was in good nick. But really, I am not really sure. Are you from a tabloid? Thank you for noticing, you bitch.”

Oliver later explained that he wasn’t feeling well after having drinks the night before and that he didn’t understand what the question was implying.

“I went out last night and had a few drinks after a very long day, (and) my brain did not quite understand that question.”

Oliver also defended his health to the critics who came down on him for not practicing what he preaches about health.
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Posted on March 9, 2024 by Lacy

Coca-Cola Changes Formula Rather than Add Cancer Warnings

A new law has caused Coca-Cola to reformulate their soda.

According to the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), the compounds in the caramel coloring in many soft drinks has been shown to cause lung, liver, and thyroid cancer in lab mice and rats. Because of these findings, the CSPI has called on the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to ban the use of caramel coloring. The guilty ingredients are 2-methylimidazole (2-MEI) and 4-methylimidazole (4-MEI). These compounds form when sugar is mixed with ammonia and sulfites. It may not effect the flavor, but it creates the caramel, or brown color.

This year the state of California determined that 4-MEI qualified as a carcinogen. Because of this ruling, companies using that coloring compound would be required to print cancer warnings on their packages or reformulate their products. Further, the CSPI said their recent lab studies found that the 4-MEI levels in many 12-ounce sodas exceeded the 29 microgram limit set by California law.

“The body of science about 4-MEI in foods or beverages does not support the erroneous allegations that CSPI would like the public to believe,” said a Coca-Cola representative. “The 4-MEI levels in our products pose no health or safety risks.”

Regardless of the debate, Coca-Cola has decided to change its manufacturing process rather than print cancer warnings on their drinks.

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Posted on March 9, 2024 by Lacy

Devin Alexander’s Plate for National Nutrition Month

When it comes to a typical healthy and balanced meal, my Italian heritage often shines through! An ideal dinner plate could contain “Three Cheese Spinach Lasagna” from The Biggest Loser Flavors of the World Cookbook, New Favorite Meatballs from The Biggest Loser Family Cookbook with Main Event Marinara Sauce from The Biggest Loser Family Cookbook, and Lemon Arugula Salad from The Biggest Loser Quick and Easy Cookbook. And then I recommend eating the pictured blood orange for a snack a couple hours before or after dinner when hunger strikes. This whole plate (including the orange) contains less than 450 calories! (more…)

Posted on March 9, 2024 by Health Buzz

Abra Pappa’s Plate for National Nutrition Month

Each time I prepare a plate of food I see it as an amazing opportunity to build layers of functional ingredients that work to keep me at my optimal healthy best.

My plate, seen here, is filled half full with a raw kale and chia seed salad, dressed with cold pressed organic olive oil and lemon juice, to the left is baked dijon salmon atop roasted garlic millet. This was my dinner the evening before a long flight. I wanted to be sure that I had immunity boosting foods on my plate (kale, lemon for vitamin C and roasted garlic), and mood boosting and anxiety reducing foods (because I don’t love to fly). (more…)

Posted on March 8, 2024 by Nutritious_America

Servings Size Scams Don’t Effect the Well Informed

I get a lot of emails from people that know I’m a health writer that stumble upon interesting articles. They shoot me the link, usually with a subject line of “Can you believe this!?” Today I logged in to find an article sent to me called “Serving Size Scams Can Make You Fat” from MSNBC.com. Excited to share with you all which foods are “marketed as lower in calories than they really are,” I opened the link.

Fail. This is what I found:

Serving Size Rip-Off: Campbell’s Chunky Microwaveable Soup
Listed calories: 200
Servings per container: 2
Total calories: 400

They then go on to claim it is ludicrous that one single microwavable cup is 2 servings because people will only eat it all in one sitting.

They list Pop Tarts (who only eats just one?) packages of ramen noodles, pot pies and more processed foods that anyone interested in eating healthy wouldn’t touch anyway as shady labeling offenders…because they have more than one serving per package.

Wait, wait, wait. So because most people will devour the food in one sitting, companies should change their serving sizes to one entire package? Valid point if you want to make it, but to say they are “scamming” people is making excuses for those who aren’t informed on how to properly read a nutrition label. All the information on the package is correct and legal- it is not the company’s fault you don’t know how to interpret it.

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Posted on March 7, 2024 by Kelly