Diet and Nutrition

Commit to Shape-Up Week with Alison Sweeney

Alison Sweeney announced on her Twitter page March 14th that she is starting a Shape-Up Week, using the hashtag #shapeupweek, the specifics of which she outlines in her book, The Mommy Diet.

Shape-Up Week is a week of clean eating, consistent exercise, and no slip-ups. It doesn’t fall on a specific calendar day, it’s any week you feel as though you need one to get back on track and kickstart your results and motivation. Your Shape-Up Week can be any week you choose- it is just a week where you recommit to your goals, and stick to them for an entire week.

According to Ali’s website, “…the bottom line is that this week I am going to focus on my health and fitness. It’s not just like any other week, when I work at health and fitness but win some and lose some.This week I am 100% goal-oriented. No sweets, no treats, no excuses.”

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Posted on March 15, 2024 by Kelly

Americans Have Overly Optimistic View of Their Nutritional Wellbeing HealthiNation Study Reveals

To coincide with the American Dietetic Association’s National Nutrition Month, HealthiNation commissioned a study by ORC International: CARAVAN revealing that Americans have an overly optimistic view of their own nutritional wellbeing.  The findings of the national phone survey of 1,000 U.S. adults suggest that when it comes to nutrition, Americans’ perceptions do not match reality.

A majority of adults (52%) think that they are doing all they can do to achieve a balanced nutritional diet and almost two-thirds of adults (63%) believe they have a solid understanding of the basics of nutrition.  Yet, 76% of adults are not getting the minimum daily serving of fruits and vegetables as recommended by the USDA. On average, adults eat fewer than three servings (defined as ½ cup portions) of fruits and vegetables a day combined. Why the discrepancy and how can we educate without information overload?

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Posted on March 15, 2024 by Maris

How Fast Food Buzzwords Fool Consumers

Fast food restaurants try really hard to fool us into thinking their foods are good for us, as counter-intuitive as that may be. It starts with the images in their commercials where the foods are glistening with each slice of tomato, lettuce, and grilled chicken breast or burger nicely stacked on top of each other.

Then you have some of the buzzwords that they use. This part really gets under my skin because it’s such a brazen way of being deceptive – walking that tight rope of legality, while using words that imply the other words that they can’t actually use!

So, when a fast food commercial wants to tell you that their foods are healthy, but obviously can’t, they go for the next best thing: words like wholesome, fresh, all-natural, premium, or 100 percent whatever. (more…)

Posted on March 15, 2024 by Jason

Sargento Joins Forces with Culinary Expert to Help Americans Make More Nutritious Choices

Packaged foods often get a bad rap for contributing to problems in America like obesity and heart disease. While this is sometimes true, other brands are working to improve nutrition in the country. Sargento Foods, Inc., in partnership with culinary expert and registered dietitian, Michelle Dudash, is making it easier for Americans to incorporate healthier – yet tasty – options in their diets.

With the recent release of the 2024 Dietary Guidelines for Americans by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Agriculture, there is a greater call for people to choose nutrient-dense foods that are lower in sodium and saturated fat. And Sargento Reduced Sodium and Reduced Fat natural cheeses are just that.

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Posted on March 14, 2024 by Maris

Healthiest Menu Choices at Long John Silver’s

Now that Lent is in full swing, you may be wondering what the best place is to get a healthy fish meal on the go, right? Well, we recently scoured the seafood chain Long John Silver’s menu for the healthiest options. Based on recommendations from our registered dietitian Rebecca Scritchfield and the new daily sodium recommendations, the following four items, when paired with a Corn Cobbette without Butter Oil, have less than 500 calories and less than 500 milligrams of sodium per meal. So go get your fish on!

Healthiest Meals at Long John Silver’s

1. Three Battered Shrimp. If you’re really craving fried food, indulge smartly with this small portion that comes in with a Corn Cobbette at just 225 calories and 480 milligrams of sodium.

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Posted on March 14, 2024 by Jennipher

Get In Shape for Your Health and Alicia Silverstone on The Doctors

The DoctorsTune in Tuesday, March 15 to learn why it’s actually important for your health, and not just your looks, to workout regularly. The Doctors will show you have to improve your health from the inside out with exercises that can help your lungs, knees, and yes, even give you a flat stomach.

Alicia Silverstone will also be on Tuesday’s show, sharing her favorite healthy yet sweet treats. Silverstone has been on a vegan diet for many years, so her suggestions are sure to be free of meat and dairy. She’s also the author of The Kind Diet, which discusses the benefits of a plant-based diet.

Check your local listings for show times.

Posted on March 14, 2024 by Margaret

Eat Right With Red Foods in a Healthy One Pot Meal

Elisa Zied, MS, RD, CDN is a registered dietitian, and the founder/president of Zied Health Communications, LLC in New York City. She’s the author of the award-winning Nutrition At Your Fingertips (Alpha, 2024), a regular contributor to MSNBC.com and Galtime.com, and an Advisory Board member for Parents magazine and parents.com. For more information, or to sign up for The ZIED GUIDE free weekly e-newsletter, visit elisazied.com.

This recipe, from Feed Your Family Right! (Wiley, 2024), packs in lots of delicious RED foods—tomatoes (rich in vitamins and minerals including vitamin C, vitamin A, vitamin K, and potassium and a good source of lycopene when cooked), red bell peppers (loaded with vitamin C and vitamin A, and also a good source of vitamin B6, fiber and other nutrients), and jalapeno peppers (rich in vitamin C and a good source of vitamin A and fiber). It also combines protein (from sirloin) with complex carbohydrates and fiber (from beans) to fill you up and provide long-lasting energy.
An added bonus? It’s a hearty and delicious meal the whole family will enjoy!

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Posted on March 14, 2024 by GuestBlogger

Living Lean and Simplifying Your Life

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 am a huge advocate of “living lean.” There are countless benefits to adopting a philosophy that encourages living simply.

About 10 years ago my husband and I began to declutter our lives. We were already committed to eating healthy and exercising, but now we were ready to further simplify our lives.

One of the first casualties was our well-intentioned addiction to juices. After reading a label one day, we realized we would be better off making our own instead of consuming all those sugars and chemicals. Using an old, hand-held juicer, my husband began to squeeze out the juice of two oranges every morning. It was not the glass full we were use to, but when you live lean, and naturally, you begin to realize what a true serving size looks like, and it becomes enough to satisfy you. (more…)

Posted on March 13, 2024 by GuestBlogger

Healthiest Meal Choices at Sonic

When it comes to most fast-food places I don’t have a problem driving by, but there’s something about Sonic that really tests my willpower. (Mostly it’s the tater tots, Cherry Limeades and the novelty of have someone serve you in your car.) In our ongoing review of what to eat and what to avoid at fast-food restaurants across the country, today we’re putting Sonic’s menu to the test. The below menu options meet the recommendations of our registered dietitian Rebecca Scritchfield’s healthy guidelines of having less than 500 calories and less than 500 milligrams of sodium, according to the the new daily sodium recommendations.

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Posted on March 13, 2024 by Jennipher

Vitamin D Recommendations too Low for Cancer Prevention

Researchers at Creighton University School of Medicine and University of California, San Diego, School of Medicine are saying that people need to get a much higher amount of vitamin D to protect themselves from cancer.

“We found that daily intakes of vitamin D by adults in the range of 4,000-8,000 IU are needed to maintain blood levels of vitamin D metabolites in the range needed to reduce by about half the risk of several diseases – breast cancer, colon cancer, multiple sclerosis, and type 1 diabetes,” said Cedric Garland, Dr. P.H., professor of family and preventive medicine at UC San Diego Moores Cancer Center.

The National Council on Skin Cancer Prevention recommends that people get their vitamin D from a combination of our dietary choices and supplements, not by making an effort to get more sun exposure which helps out bodies produce it.

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Posted on March 12, 2024 by Jason

Taste Test: New Weight Watchers’ Smart Ones

Weight Watchers Frozen Meal Weight Watchers recently added four new dishes to their line-up of Smart Ones frozen meals. Many people find Smart Ones a convenient approach to portion control and calorie cutting. All Smart Ones products now incorporate the new PointsPlus program.

There are two new breakfast options and two new Signature Sundaes. The new breakfast items are French Toast with Turkey Sausage and the Egg, Sausage and Cheese Wrap. The wrap has scrambled egg whites with cheese sauce, veggies and sausage in a soft tortilla. The wrap may seem small at first glance, but I found it to be quite filling. It has six points on the PointsPlus program, 240 calories, seven grams of fiber and 11 grams of protein.

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Posted on March 12, 2024 by Margaret