Diet and Nutrition

Diabetes Rates to Triple By 2050

According to the numbers from The American Diabetes Association, nearly 24 million Americans have diabetes. If that number isn’t alarming enough, expert are expecting a steep increase in those numbers in the coming decades.

While the current number of diabetics in the U.S. is close to 10 percent, it may reach 33 percent of the population in another generation (2050) if we don’t do something about it. Think about that for a second: one in three people may be diabetic in the not-so-distant future.

The irony is that this potentially fatal disease is on the rise, in part, because people are living longer. That’s because diabetes becomes more prevalent in older people. Also, people who are already diabetic can live longer due to the effectiveness of modern insulin delivery methods. Lastly, diabetes has always been more prevalent in minority populations, and those populations are on the rise in the U.S. Both Hispanic and African Americans are over the 10 percent mark for diabetes. (more…)

Posted on October 26, 2024 by Jason

Tips for Travelers on Eating Healthier at the Airport

Everyone knows that it can be hard to prevent weight gain on vacation. Between dinners out, hotel breakfast buffets and bottomless frozen margaritas, it can be difficult to prevent the scale from tipping when you hit the road.

Whether you’re planning a pre-holiday getaway or racking frequent flier miles on business travel, start your trip off on the right foot by choosing healthy snacks and meals at your first stop: the airport.

Between boredom and stress-related eating, people tend to make unsavory choices when parked at the terminal. Here are a few tips that real travelers shared for Diets In Review readers who are clocking in miles this year. (more…)

Posted on October 26, 2024 by Maris

One Family’s Experience: Feed Your Family for $15 a Dinner

Feeding your family both nutritiously and inexpensively can be a challenge. Are you up for one?

When I posted a link to the Whole Foods Initiative, Feed Your Family of 5 for $25, many readers suggested that the $25 threshold wasn’t that big of a challenge. Readers felt that it would be more difficult to feed either a large family with that figure or spend less money. I decided to try to do both, and went to my local grocery store with a week of dinners planned. I gave myself a budget of $75 to feed 8 people for dinner. I did not include charges for staples or spices that you should have in your house, like garlic, salt, pepper, olive oil and honey. I was surprised to see that it was not as tough of a struggle as I had anticipated.  (more…)

Posted on October 25, 2024 by Carmen

The Benefits of Chocolate for the Body, Mind and Soul

As we head towards the holidays (or as I like to call it, sweets season) there is temptation everywhere for overindulgence. Before you dive headfirst into the Skittles and Twizzlers, consider chocolate as an occasional treat. Ghirardelli has traced chocolate back more than 4,000 years to the culture of the Mayas in Central and South America.

It was introduced to Europe in the 1500s but reinvented by European chocolatiers as a sweet confection. In the 1800s, it was re-introduced to Americans and remains a favorite snack and dessert. Though chocolate is usually high in fat and calories it does have some healthful benefits for your mind, body and as some might contend, your soul. (more…)

Posted on October 25, 2024 by Maris

Figs Are Fall’s Favorite Fruit

The fig is thought to be the oldest cultivated fruit known to man. Many centuries ago, they were native to Asia and the Mediterranean, although they’ve been introduced to places all over the world with similar climates. The Mediterranean diet has become very popular in the U.S. but an essential part of it, the fig, is often forgotten. Since ancient times, figs have been prized for their sweetness and nutritional profile. If you’ve never experienced the fig beyond a chewy newton, I highly suggest you do. (more…)

Posted on October 25, 2024 by Theresa

Caffeine Intoxication a Real Risk for Caffeine Addicts

Most of us probably have the regular cup or two of coffee or tea in the morning to wake up and get raring to go for the day. I know each morning I look forward to my cup of hot green tea and sometimes even have a cup in the afternoon as a pick-me-up. On the weekends, I get a nonfat soy latte as a treat.

There’s a lot of research out there on caffeine- some of it good and some of it not so good. For example, caffeine has been shown to have a positive effect on sports performance. Caffeine increases the power output of muscles by releasing calcium, which basically helps you go longer and faster. Caffeine also helps you feel less tired, so, in a race, you just keep going and going. That cup of joe has also been shown to improve mental alertness and may help ward off a number of diseases including Alzheimer’s, cirrhosis and colon cancer. (more…)

Posted on October 25, 2024 by Jennipher

Kristen Stewart Diets for Breaking Dawn

Twilight ActressKristen Stewart is on a strict diet in preparation for Breaking Dawn, the fourth movie in the Twilight saga. According to the L.A. Times, she’s swapping veggie burgers for cheeseburgers, and also cutting out other greasy favorites. “I eat disgustingly normally,” she told People. “So, right now, I’m trying to not put so much butter in my food and stuff like that.”

“I want a cheeseburger so badly,” said Stewart. “But I have to be a vampire in a few weeks.” In the Twilight universe, vampires are known for their ethereal looks and willowy figures. Breaking Dawn director Bill Condon suggested that Stewart lose weight as part of her character’s transformation from mortal to undead. Production begins in November.

(more…)

Posted on October 25, 2024 by Health Buzz

Victoria’s Secret Model Reveals Her Diet

Victoria's Secret ModelSupermodel Adriana Lima starts preparing for the annual Victoria’s Secret fashion show six weeks in advance. She works out for two hours a day, six days a week. Lima says she prefers boxing, jumping rope and isometric exercises that don’t require equipment. “I don’t lift weights, I don’t like machines. Everything I do is with my body weight,” she said. Lima keeps a positive attitude about working out. “Every day’s a challenge, every day you’re stepping out and learning something new. So it’s wonderful, I like it a lot. It’s very intense, but I like it.” She feels that working out helps her body cleanse itself of toxins.

Lima also shifts her diet, cutting back on carbs and upping the protein for three weeks before the runway show. “I’m doing a combination of different protein shakes — it’s called Metagenics,” said the model. “Also, I only can eat green vegetables, everything grilled or steamed, or four ounces of any type of protein. And usually that’s what I have for lunch and dinner, and every three hours in between I have a protein shake or cereal bar.”

(more…)

Posted on October 25, 2024 by Health Buzz

100 Percent Potato Diet

PotatoUPDATE [10/29/10]: For health reasons, Voigt has added more fried potato dishes to his diet and expanding his toppings, including potato chips. “You have to remember that there is absolutely no fat in a potato, no fat in any of the seasonings or herbs I’m eating,” he wrote in his blog. “But there are 2 fatty acids that are essential to bodily functions and are needed by your body. The healthy oils from the fries and chips are supplying me those fatty acids.” It seems that now half way through his 20-potatoes-a-day diet, Voigt is loosing some of this enthusiasm.

The executive director of the Washington State Potato Commission, Chris Voigt, is taking an unusual approach to promoting his product. He’s eating an all-potato diet of about 20 spuds per day. Voigt has followed the diet for three weeks, and plans to continue for a total of 60 days.

“I feel fine. I really don’t notice any difference,” said Voigt, “My blood sugar is hanging right in there, and my blood pressure is stable.” He’s also lost about 12 pounds. “I really wasn’t planning on that,” he said.

Voigt is eating about 2,200 calories per day. With the skins, potatoes provide the daily recommended quantity of many key nutrients, including vitamin C, potassium, thiamin, iron and niacin. They also contain protein. He has allowed himself a little oil, herbs and other spices to cook and flavor his potatoes.

(more…)

Posted on October 25, 2024 by Health Buzz

The One Dollar Diet on The Dr. Oz Show

Tune in this Monday, October 25 to The Dr. Oz Show when America’s favorite doctor tells you how to eat for less and lose weight.

Eating well does not have to mean going into your savings account to pay for fruits and vegetables. In fact, eating inexpensively and dropping a few pounds is much easier than you think. On The Dr. Oz Show, you will learn about how to stretch your dollar without stretching your waistline with Dr. Oz’s $1 Diet. (more…)

Posted on October 25, 2024 by heather

The Effect of Food on Brain Health

I’ve often thought, purely out of speculation, that the difference between food and drugs is a fairly fine line. Sure, the side effects can be drastically different (I’m not saying heroin and candy bars are virtually the same thing), but that there’s so much emphasis on the use of certain drugs that people completely ignore the fact that foods are chemicals, and therefore have an effect on your brain in a similar way.

“The distinction of what is a drug and what is food is blurring completely. Natural things are also drugs,” said Gary Wenk, a professor at the Ohio State University and Medical Center and author of the new book Your Brain on Food: How Chemicals Control Your Thoughts and Feelings. (more…)

Posted on October 25, 2024 by Jason