Diet and Nutrition

Rare Burgers Banned in North Carolina Restaurants

North Carolina may be a red state politically, but many meat eaters are blue in the face crying foul over a state ban on rare burgers in restaurants. The state now requires restaurants to cook their hamburgers to a temperature of 155 degrees, which health officials say is enough to kill unhealthy bacteria such as E. coli.

While North Carolina’s citizens are still allowed to eat their hamburgers anyway they wish at home, restaurants can’t go any lower than medium on the cooking chart. Word has it that this legislation has created somewhat of an underground red meat-eating movement, a bit like the speakeasies of Prohibition days, I suppose.

North Carolina restaurants can still serve steaks rare to customers since they don’t pose the same threat as ground meat. If contaminants exist on a piece of steak they are usually on the outside and killed during the cooking process. However, when beef is ground up the bacteria is mixed inside.

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Posted on May 24, 2024 by Jason

Ashley Koff on Lifetime’s Love Handles: Couples in Crisis

A new reality weight-loss series will be airing on Tuesday, May 31 called Love Handles: Couples in Crisis. The show takes a break from the contest-based format, like Shedding for the Wedding and The Biggest Loser, to take a deeper emotional look at the psychology of weight loss. The show follows 16 couples from different parts of the U.S., not only as they lose weight but also as their relationships change and evolve.

DietsInReview caught up with Ashley Koff RD, the dietitian for the new show, to talk about her experience on the show and the unique pros and cons of working with couples. The celebrity dietician recently worked on Shedding for the Wedding, making her no stranger to helping couples lose weight or to reality TV.

“What was really unique is twofold: it’s not a contest and we’re not taking people out of their regular lives,” said Koff. “So, they still have everything that’s going on in their world, on top of which they’re now shooting a show in their daily life.” Each episode will be an in-depth look at two couples.

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Posted on May 24, 2024 by Margaret

Anna Kournikova’s Diet and Workout Routine

Biggest Loser fans are buzzing with speculations that tennis star Anna Kournikova will be replacing Jillian Michaels on the next season of The Biggest Loser. Weather or not this rumor proves to be true, Kournikova certainly seems to be in great shape. So what is Kournikova’s approach to staying thin?

Unlike Jillian Michaels, who was once heavy and went through the struggle of weight loss, Kournikova is naturally tall and thin. But she doesn’t necessarily eat whatever she wants. “All in moderation. I try to eat a balanced diet but do not deprive myself of the occasional splurge,” she writes in the Question and Answer forum on her website. “I like plain Corn Flakes. My favorite meal really depends on what mood I am in but over all I could eat pizza anytime.” She adds that she likes all kinds of salads and raw veggies, but also enjoys the occasional indulgence. “If I am going to have something that rich I would rather have a good piece of cake.” Kournikova says she even goes to McDonald’s from time to time.

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Posted on May 23, 2024 by Margaret

Ultimate New York Body Plan Gets Results, but Not the Healthy Way

by Descygna Webb

Finding a diet that gets real results in a short amount of time can be a difficult and often unrealistic task. Many everyday people look to celebrities for their diet advice and seek to have those coveted movie star bodies. One diet that has been used by several celebrities is the Ultimate New York Body Plan by trainer David Kirsch. This diet offers a hardcore workout routine to whip you into shape quickly. This plan is only two weeks long and it includes both diet and fitness components. The Ultimate New York Body Plan will help you lose weight, increase your energy, tone muscles, and give you real results. Some of the celebrity clientele that have used this program include Heidi Klum, Naomi Campbell, James King and Liv Tyler.

The program has been proven and you start off by taking a fitness assessment to see your starting fitness level. If your fitness level is not high enough, you won’t be able to start the two week program. There is a pre-plan program for those that need to build up their fitness for the actual program. During the two week program, you do customized workouts everyday based on your fitness level. Many of Kirsch’s celebrity clients have spoken about the difficulty of the fitness component. You may be exercising for up to 90 minutes each day and both cardio and weight training are included.

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Posted on May 23, 2024 by Health Buzz

We Love Gatorade G Fit

Gatorade is one of those products that just about anyone knows – after all, attend any sports game with your kids and it’s on the sidelines. That’s about the extent of my experience with the beverage. I’ve never been a big Gatorade drinker and neither have my children. One of the big problems I’ve always had with Gatorade is the amount of sugar in the beverage. For your serious athlete, a professional football or basketball player, it’s not going to be difficult to burn off that sugar. For me as a 41-year old woman, that sugar isn’t going to be burnt in the same manner – and sometimes, not at all. For this reason, I’ve mostly avoided the beverage.

The Gatorade company has done extensive research and realized that they have cornered the market with regards to performance beverage: i.e., the drink you enjoy during exercise to replenish the fluids and salts lost while exercising. It’s the pre and post workout that they decided to look to, which is really a largely untapped market. In addition, they realized that the adult, non-professional athlete has different nutritional needs, with less sugar and more protein. Gatorade has created a new line to address this, called G Series Fit.

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Posted on May 23, 2024 by Carmen

Relieve Gout Attacks Fast Without Prescription Drugs

This guest post comes from Gale Tern, author, alternative health proponent, and blogger at Arthritis Pain Central.

Gout is usually thought of as the big toe disease since one of its most common symptoms is acute pain in the big toe. Gout is actually a type of arthritis. Here is how the National Institutes of Health defines gout: “Gout is a painful condition that occurs when the bodily waste product uric acid is deposited as needle-like crystals in the joints and/or soft tissues. In the joints, these uric acid crystals cause inflammatory arthritis, which in turn leads to intermittent swelling, redness, heat, pain, and stiffness in the joints.”

What Causes Gout?

The major risk factors for gout are:

Family history. Genetics seems to play a role. If your parents or grandparents suffered from this disease there is a high likelihood that you will as well.

Weight. Being overweight also increases the risk of developing gout. Some researchers suggest that due to having more tissue mass that can breakdown inherently leads to even greater production of uric acid.

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Posted on May 22, 2024 by GuestBlogger

How My Child Overcame a Weight Problem

Maruchy Lachance is president of Running Ninja!, a lifestyle brand for runners by runners. Running Ninja! offers a wide variety of apparel and gifts for runners to keep you happy and inspired while you’re on the run.

As the parent of a 22-year-old, I know about how difficult it is to get your children to adopt a healthy lifestyle. For several years our son was overweight. In spite of our best efforts, he continued to hold on to that extra 20 pounds.

We tried to manage his weight while trying to be cautious that he not become obsessed or self-conscious. We provided better food choices for him and incorporated more exercise in his daily life. We replaced the processed meats and snacks with fresh sliced cuts of fruits. In an effort to increase his physical exercise we got him a bicycle that he would now peddle to and from school. My husband and I also tried to teach through example, cooking delicious and nutritious meals and becoming avid runners. Still, our son’s weight hung on.

Everything changed one day when he was scheduled for a routine medical check up. Because he was already 16 years old, we allowed him to see the doctor privately. After the appointment he quietly shared with us that his pediatrician had warned him of the health risks of his current weight. The physician advised our son that he simply cut back. Within months he was at a healthy weight. It was a gradual change that was achieved by his decision to cut back on his food intake while maintaining his current physical activity. (more…)

Posted on May 22, 2024 by GuestBlogger

The Mysteries of Gluten Explained

Mary Hartley, RD, MPH, is the director of nutrition for Calorie Count, providing domain expertise on issues related to nutrition, weight loss and health. She creates original content for weekly blogs and newsletters, for the Calorie Count library, and for her popular daily Question-and-Answer section, Ask Mary. Ms. Hartley also furnishes direction for the site features and for product development.

Calorie Count members want to know more about the mysteries of gluten. Here are some of our readers’ favorite “Ask Mary Q+A’s,” all gluten-free.

How would I know if I’m unable to tolerate gluten?

The classic signs of gluten intolerance are digestive problems such as constipation, diarrhea, gas, and bloating. And although not as common, not being able to tolerate gluten can also cause skin rash, joint pain, headaches, and anemia. Sometimes, gluten intolerance can actually show no obvious symptoms at all. Since there is a lot of overlap between gluten intolerance and dozens of other diseases, you should visit a doctor for evaluation if you have any concerns. You also should also consult a doctor before starting a gluten-free diet as this change can impact the test results and confound the diagnosis.

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Posted on May 22, 2024 by GuestBlogger

The Truth About Canned Tuna: Is it a Healthy Choice?

Formerly “weight challenged,” Denis Faye dropped 50 pounds following a 5-year jaunt through Australia, a trip that helped him become the extreme sports and fitness enthusiast he is today. His sports include swimming, scuba, rock climbing, spelunking, mountain biking, trekking, and—most importantly—surfing. He’s been a professional journalist for 20 years, writing for Outside, the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Magazine, Wired, Men’s Health, Men’s Journal, GQ, Surfer, and Pacific Longboarder. Denis now writes for Beachbody, which provides effective home workout dvds such as the very popular P90x program and the cardio workout dvd, TurboFire.

If ever a food confused health conscious eaters, it’s canned tuna. On one side, there’s the ascetic dieter, who eats the stuff right from the tin along side his single celery stick. On the other side, there’s your mom’s awesome cream-of-mushroom soup-drenched tuna casserole, which is trumped anti-nutritionally only by that greasy diner mainstay, the tuna melt. (True fact: in many restaurants, the tuna melt outdoes the hamburger for both calories and fat.)

And then there are the questions of mercury and overfishing and omega-3 fatty acids. Is this a healthy food or not? What’s a fish eater to do?

Fortunately, once you break it down, it’s not that complicated. As it turns out, a can of tuna can be healthy, ethical, and yummy – as long as your get your hands on the right can.

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Posted on May 21, 2024 by GuestBlogger

Popular Cleanses and Detox Diets: Healthy vs. Hype

As the weather warms and more skin starts to show, the promise of quick weight-loss makes cleanse diets and liquid fasts all the more appealing. But can a cleanse really deliver other health benefits? Most cleanses promise to flush out built-up wastes, rid the body of toxins and promote weight loss. However, many cleanses go even further, claiming that they will help you think better, get sick less often, have more energy, suffer from fewer allergy symptoms and sleep better. Can drinking a special juice really deliver on such high promises? Here’s a run-down on some of the most popular cleanses, accompanied by expert health opinions.

The Master Cleanse

Also known as the “maple syrup diet” or the “lemonade diet,” the Master Cleanse remains one of the most popular cleansing systems. It was created by alternative medical practitioner Stanley Burroughs in 1941, and consists of water, cayenne pepper, lemon juice and maple syrup, all mixed together into a kind of lemonade. Burroughs promoted the plan in his 1976 book, The Master Cleanser, but there are also a number of sites that detail how to best do the detox, plus different strategies of how to “ease in” and “ease out” of the cleanse. In the 1974 text, Burroughs recommends following this diet for a minimum of 10 days.

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Posted on May 20, 2024 by Margaret

Fast Food Companies Fight Back Against Toy Bans in Kids’ Meals

When I was a little kid, I wanted to go to McDonald’s every week to get the newest Happy Meal toy. Sure, the food was yummy, but my main motivation was definitely the toy. Now, toys in Happy Meals and other fast food meals are facing extinction as new legislation is attempting to decrease childhood obesity in our country spreads from San Francisco to other cities, such as New York City.

Many activists – including the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, the Chicago Hispanic Health Coalition, and obesity experts at Tufts University – are claiming that the toys used to promote children’s fast food meals are a main contributor to the childhood obesity epidemic. They claim that these toys encourage children to eat unhealthier meals, such as chicken nuggets and french fries.

Although this can be the case at times (as it was for me when I was younger), banning these restaurants from using toys to promote their products does not seem right to me. McDonald’s, Sonic, and several other fast food restaurants have started offering milk and juice with their kids’ meals instead of soda. They are also offering apple slices instead of french fries. When it comes down to it, it is the parent’s responsibility to monitor what their child eats; the parents allow their children to order sugary sodas and fattening french fries. Banning restaurants from using promotional items will not stop parents from buying their children unhealthy foods.

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Posted on May 20, 2024 by Health Buzz

Diet and Nutrition

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