Diet and Nutrition

My Jamie Oliver Healthy Milkshake Experiment

While I was typing up my review of the season premiere of Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution, my brother requested a milk shake as a snack, so of course I tested out what we had just seen Jamie demonstrate, trying to convince the fast food owner to serve healthier options. Jamie and the restauranteur faced off on whether a milkshake requires ice cream to really be a milkshake. Jamie made a version with yogurt that passed the taste-test of a child, but the restaurant owner was not convinced that it could qualify as a milkshake without ice cream.

For my milkshake, I grabbed two bananas out of the freezer, added pourable vanilla yogurt from local Trader’s Point Creamery, organic milk, and blended it well. I’m not a fan of yogurt, but it even passed my taste test.

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Posted on April 18, 2024 by Brooke Randolph

New Study Dubs Pistachios the “Skinny Nut”

A new study presented at the Experimental Biology conference in Washington, D.C. last week found that pistachios may be the ideal snack to aid in weight loss. Researchers discovered that not all of the nuts’ fat is absorbed by the body, making them slightly lower in calories than was previously thought. The findings work against the typically held idea that nuts are too high in calories and fat to make them good weight-loss aids.

“What we found is that when people consume the nuts, all the fat wasn’t absorbed by the body and therefore the calories weren’t all available to the body,” lead researcher Dr. David Baer told DietsInReview.

Researchers placed 52 overweight and obese subjects on 500-calorie deficit diets. Half were assigned to a group that ate pretzels as a snack, and the other group was given a pistachio snack. After 12 weeks, the pistachio group had more success in reaching their weight-loss goals.

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Posted on April 18, 2024 by Margaret

Bob Harper’s House Tour on Rachael Ray

UPDATE [8/1/2024]: This episode will air again on August 5, 2024.

Tune in to The Rachael Ray show on Tuesday, April 19th for a special make over with Bob Harper. The lovable Biggest Loser trainer recently overhauled his home in Los Angeles home. Bob loves to cook, so his kitchen is sure to be a chef’s dream! Plus, you’ll get to see a peak inside his fridge, to see if Bob is keeping up with the healthy advice he gives his clients.

Back in Rachael Ray‘s kitchen, Bob shows viewers a healthy version of a favorite Chinese take-out dish. He’s cooking up a yummy stir-fry that features quinoa, shiitake mushrooms, jalapenos and lots of fresh veggies. Rachael also takes on the tuna-melt, and transforms this sandwich into a gourmet meal.

Check your local listings for exact show times.

Posted on April 18, 2024 by Health Buzz

Rocco DiSpirito’s Healthy Easter Tips on Rachael Ray

Tune in to The Rachael Ray show on Friday, April 22nd for some tips on how to make Easter a healthy holiday from chef Rocco DiSpirito. Easter candy doesn’t have to be bad for your family, that’s why chef DiSpirito will help you build an Easter basket that’s fun and healthy! Plus, he’ll share a decadent recipes for silken chocolate mousse that’s way fewer than 350 calories.

Rocco DiSpirito is the author behind Now Eat This cookbook and the Now Eat This Diet. The cookbook features 150 of your favorite comfort foods, made-over to be more nutritious and lower in calories. He’s also frequently a guest on The Biggest Loser, where he helps contestants learn to cook healthy yet delicious meals.

Check your local listings for exact show times.

Posted on April 18, 2024 by Health Buzz

Should You Spring Clean Your System With a Detox?

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 Counters want to know whether or not it is wise to cleanse the system with a detox diet. Here are a few of the readers’ favorite “Ask Mary Q+As” about spring cleaning.

Should I fast to prepare my system for a change?

Fasting is unnecessary. Your system does not need to prepare for change. In a fast lasting longer than a day or two, the body starts to breakdown some of its muscles and organs to generate fuel for the central nervous system. Because muscle is a major calorie burner, less muscle could lead to lowering overall calorie requirements, which could make it more difficult to lose weight in the future. And then, due to feast-or-famine thinking, food deprivation could lead to overeating when food becomes available again. Instead of fasting, it’s best to just go ahead and begin to eat a balanced diet of wholesome food at a lower calorie level.

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Posted on April 17, 2024 by GuestBlogger

Power Foods and Time-Saving Exercises

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.

I often refer to the process of healthy eating and fitness as a journey, not a destination. For me, the journey began by my need to lose weight after the birth of my son. My goal was not to get healthy or to get fit, it was to solely lose that weight. As the years went by my focus shifted to a healthier, not just slimmer, lifestyle and that is when I became more serious about eating leaner and exercising.

Today I am at yet another stage where I am introducing power foods that serve to fuel my body rather than just feed it. I am also introducing exercises that are more than just about toning, but about supporting my skeleton and protecting my delicate joints.

Here are some of the easy and versatile power foods and exercises I have been indulging in: (more…)

Posted on April 17, 2024 by GuestBlogger

African Mango Extract Hyped as Weight Loss Miracle

It’s no secret that people are often searching for the next diet miracle. From two-day diet pills to 24-hour diets, people are constantly searching for quick fixes to aid their weight loss efforts.

With summer swimsuit season fast-approaching, Dr. Mehmet Oz, a cardiothoracic surgeon and host of the daily medical talk show, The Dr. Oz Show, has presented a new way for people to drop pounds: with African Mango extract.

According to Dr. Oz, African Mango extract comes from a mango fruit that is grown naturally in African rainforests. African Mango, which is said to be one of the only weight management agents found in nature, is also rumored to have properties that help regulate cholesterol.

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Posted on April 16, 2024 by Maris

3 Ways to Easily Avoid Dehydration Dangers

Debra Roby is certified as a Personal Trainer through NASM. She trains private clients in the SF Bay area and is developing an online coaching business. She blogs at Weight for Deb.

When we get mildly dehydrated – simply missing one to three glasses of water throughout the day- the symptoms are often weight gain, confusion and a craving for sweets. Because we do not recognize these clues as “my body is thirsty”, we go about addressing these symptoms incorrectly. Often our “cures” -coffee or soda, salty or sweet snacks or even a nap- make the condition slightly worse instead of better.

We’ve learned it’s important to drink 8 glasses of water a day. Sipping from one glass each hour throughout the day keeps our cells hydrated. When we forget, our body pulls water from where it can find it -our urine, our intestines, and our blood-to insure that our cells can continue to function. When this fluid is pulled away, it leads to kidney stones, bladder infections, constipation and more. More chronic dehydration affects our brain, leaving us confused or unable to concentrate.

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Posted on April 16, 2024 by GuestBlogger

Burger King Japan Launches New Diet Disaster

Fast-Food chain Burger King is continuing the trend of launching ultra-fatty sandwiches in Japan with a new burger. First, McDonald’s launched its “Big America” campaign, which features a collection of burgers (yes, a collection–there are at least four of them) named for American locations and are loaded with a barrage of high-calorie items, from chips to chili. Now, Burger King has launched the Meat Monster burger.

As part of the “Have It Your Way” promotion, the Meat Monster is based on the All Heavy, a burger that has about one and a half times the amount of toppings as a regular Whopper. The Meat Monster then has two slices of cheese, three strips of bacon, an extra 3.3 ounce beef patty and a Tendergrill chicken patty. The burger sells for 820 yen, the equivalent of $9.70. Using the equivalent U.S. ingredients, The Consumerist estimates that the sandwich has 1160 calories, while SeriousEats used Burger King’s online meal builder to get an estimated value of 1310 calories.

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Posted on April 15, 2024 by Margaret

Natalie Portman Abandons Her Vegan Lifestyle During Pregnancy

by Kelsey Murray

To the vegan and vegetarian population, Natalie Portman, star of The Black Swan, has been somewhat of an icon. Since October 2024, Portman announced she was making the switch from vegetarian to vegan. She had been a vegetarian for many years, but decided to cut out all animal products from her diet, including milk and eggs.

Now, the mother-to-be has decided to become more lax with her diet. Earlier this week, Portman announced that she has started adding eggs and dairy products back into her diet.

“I actually went back to being vegetarian when I became pregnant. Just because I felt like I wanted that stuff, and I was listening to my body to have eggs and dairy and that sort of thing,” she said. “I know there are people who do stay vegan [during pregnancy], but I think you have to just be careful, watch your iron levels and your B12 levels and supplement those if there are things you might be low in your diet.”

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Posted on April 15, 2024 by Health Buzz

Fight Seasonal Allergies with Your Diet

According to WebMD, approximately 35 million Americans have problems with seasonal allergies associated with pollen, grass, flowers, and other plants.

Seasonal allergies can be a life-changing experience, making us cough and sneeze to the point of even avoiding social situations. While there are certainly prescription and over-the-counter medical remedies that you can seek out, there are actually natural ways you can go about easing symptoms through your diet.

Whether it’s mold, pollen, ragweed, or what have you, it’s possible to find seasonal allergy relief (red skin, itchy eyes, and those embarrassing sneezes) from what you eat and other natural remedies.

“Using nature-based products can be a very useful way to handle mild allergies and a useful adjunct for more significant allergies, and there are many types of treatments you can safely try,” says Mary Hardy, MD, director of integrative medicine at Cedars Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles.

Here’s where you can begin:

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Posted on April 15, 2024 by Jason

Diet and Nutrition

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