Diet and Nutrition

Energy Star Rating System May Make a Better Food Label

We’re used to seeing the Energy Star rating system on our appliances, but are we ready to see it on our food? With so much interest in how Americans are eating lately, it’s no wonder that the Institute of Medicine (IOM) is proposing a change in the current food labeling system in an effort to declutter the nutrition claim overload seen on today’s food packaging.

The proposed labeling, which would appear on the front of packages and highlight a few top nutrients consumers are interested in, would allow consumers to more easily identify healthy options without having to spend too much time reading small print or interpreting the variety of health claims plastered on many of the products lining grocery store shelves.

Yet this isn’t the first front-of-package label to be introduced to consumers. In fact, the IOM’s label is just one of many new labels being touted as the “next best thing” in food packaging. Food companies have already begun to introduce their own line of similar labels designed to point out what makes their product better than their competitor’s variety. In fact, the IOM has quite the battle ahead as it attempts to put their unique mark on the foods we eat. Unfortunately, in the heat of that battle, consumers seeking better food choices may suffer in the short-term as they continue to make attempts to decode each unique food labeling system currently available.

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Posted on October 31, 2024 by Kati

Dr. Oz Gives His Seal of Approval to His Favorite Health Products

Tune in Friday, November, 7, 2024 to Dr. Oz to learn what health and fitness products the doctor is giving his very own seal of approval.

For the first time, Dr. Oz is giving his official approval on foods, alternative treatments, and more. This episode has taken three years of research to complete and the doctor will be revealing items and issues he’s most passionate about.

Catch Friday’s show and see everything that’s “Oz Tested and Oz Approved.”

Posted on October 31, 2024 by Lacy

Super Broccoli Boasts 3 Times the Disease Fighting Power

After 14 years in the lab, scientists have revealed a new breed of broccoli, and if the studies continue to back the claims, this broccoli may really be super for the body.

Super broccoli was created at the Institute for Food Research in Norwich, England. It’s a cross breed of traditional British broccoli and a wild, bitter Sicilian variety that has no flowery head yet a big dose of the nutrient glucoraphanin. The potency of glucoraphanin in this new breed is what is making it so super.

Broccoli naturally contains glucoraphanin, however super broccoli contains two to three times the normal amount. Glucoraphanin works by breaking down fat and preventing it from clogging arteries. There have also been many studies that are pointing to glucoarphanin being a preventative agent for heart attacks and certain cancers. The nutrient is used naturally by plants to combat insects, and in humans it may stimulate the body’s natural chemical defenses, possibly making the body more efficient at removing dangerous compounds.

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Posted on October 30, 2024 by Lacy

Pine Nuts Recalled Due to Salmonella Outbreak

Just when you thought your food was safe from foodborne illnesses, another salmonella outbreak hits! This time, the food in question is Wegmans Food Markets Inc.’s Turkish Pine Nuts which have been linked to the latest outbreak causing at least 43 people to become ill in seven states. No deaths have been reported at this time.

The pine nuts were sold in the Wegmans New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Virginia, and Maryland based stores between July 1st and October 18th and were found in unlabeled bulk containers and may be present in foods prepared at Wegmans including some baked goods, pesto, and salads.

According to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Wegmans has voluntarily recalled over 5,000 pounds of their pine nuts to prevent further illness. The pine nuts are suggested to be contaminated with Salmonella Enterditis, an organism that can cause serious and sometimes fatal infection in populations considered to be at high risk. Children, the elderly, pregnant women, and individuals with a compromised immune system are all considered to be at higher risk for infection. Individuals who are relatively healthy typically experience fever, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, and abdominal pain after eating something with salmonella bacteria present in high levels.

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Posted on October 29, 2024 by Kati

6 Reasons You May Be a Food Addict

People often say they are “addicted” to a food without much thought. But real food addiction is not something that should be taken lightly.

While it may be difficult to ever imagine comparing food and drugs, the difference in how people interact and react to each is not so different after all. People who suffer from food addiction exhibit some of the same behaviors and chemical reactions in their body as a drug addict.

Scientists are finding that food addiction begins in the brain. Here, there are chemical surges that affect a person’s response to food. These surges are very similar to those that occur with substance abuse. (more…)

Posted on October 29, 2024 by Jason

Coffee May Prevent Cancer

Anytime I see a new positive coffee study, and there seems to be that chance every few months, I feel less and less guilty about one of my few vices. Here’s an enlightening new study…

Coffee as Sunscreen? Well, Not Exactly

Not only will you be perked up and alert with your daily joe, but researchers now say it may also reduce your risk of developing skin cancer.

“Our study indicates that coffee consumption may be an important option to help prevent basal cell carcinoma,” said lead researcher Fengju Song, a postdoctoral fellow in the department of dermatology at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School in Boston.

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Posted on October 28, 2024 by Jason

The 5 Traits of Our Nation’s Healthiest Schools

The fact that our nation’s schools need a revamp on their school lunch and physical activity programs is not new information. Thankfully now there’s more to report than just stating the need for change.

Recently the USDA recognized over a thousand schools for their improvements to nutrition and physical education programs. Five traits were highlighted to describe what a healthy American school looks like today.

One trait of a healthy school is their stellar performance in the National School and Lunch Program. The voluntary program is part of First Lady Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move campaign that is attempting to end childhood obesity within a single generation.

For schools to be a certified member of the National School and Lunch Program they must follow nutritional guidelines. A different vegetable must be provided each day at lunch, one serving of beans or peas must be served weekly, a different fruit is to be offered each day of the week, whole grains are to be served 3 to 5 days a week, and only low-fat or fat free milk products are offered to students on the program.

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Posted on October 28, 2024 by Lacy

Steve Jobs’ Odd Eating Habits Revealed in New Biography

The world is still mourning the death of Apple CEO Steve Jobs while also praising his many contributions to technology. Details of Jobs’ life, including some of his strange eating habits, are making their way into the public eye with the release of his biography Steve Jobs.

The book, written by Walter Isaacson, offers some fascinating information about Jobs’ bizarre eating habits. It is said that Jobs was heavily affected by the book Diet for a Small Planet while he was in college, and decided to give up all meat because of it. This book also influenced Steve Jobs’ tendencies to engage in extreme diets. Some of these diets included purges, fasts and only eating one or two foods for long periods of time.

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Posted on October 28, 2024 by Descygna

The Drunk Diet May Have Sobering Results

There are literally millions of diet books on the shelves. Not one of them recommends a long night of whiskey drinking and 5:00 a.m. cheeseburgers. None of them did, until now, that is. Luc Carl’s memoir The Drunk Diet will follow this rocker as he gets in shape in the most unorthodox manner.

Luc Carl is the manager of the rock bar St. Jerome in New York City. He’s also a party promoter and Lady Gaga’s boyfriend. Carl’s lifestyle of heavy drinking and partying left him 40 pounds over weight and very out of shape. Carl was ready to make a change, but not by following the rules.

The Drunk Diet is a year long look into how Carl still partied every night and managed to lose 40 pounds and tone up his body. Carl specifically wanted to challenge the rule about heavy alcohol consumption and weight loss.

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Posted on October 27, 2024 by Lacy

3 Grab-and-Go Snacks That are No Good for You

By Karen Sherwood for NutritiousAmerica.com

In these last few days of October we rush around in search of the perfect costume, the most awesome carving pumpkin, and candy for the trick-or-treaters. And even before we have opened that first piece of Halloween loot we are bombarded with Christmas commercials, displays, and reminders that the rest of the holiday season is literally around the corner. Tis’ the season to have less and less time and a greater need for quick grab-and-go treats, sustenance to get you through.

There are so many options when it comes to grab-and-go snacks the grocery store isles are literally overflowing with them. Snacks claiming to be healthy, claiming to have a host of health supportive properties, but do they? Our Nutritious America detectives recently skimmed the grocery isles in search of questionable on-the-go healthy snacks. Here are a few of the most popular culprits complete with our always unbiased opinions! (more…)

Posted on October 27, 2024 by GuestBlogger

Diet and Nutrition

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