Diet and Nutrition

Tune In: Why We Crave Food on the Rachael Ray Show

Tune in this Monday, April 12 to the Rachael Ray Show to learn the science behind why you crave certain foods.

Whether it’s junk food, a greasy cheeseburger or a caramel sundae, you will find out how to literally train your brain to reach for the right foods, so that your cravings won’t derail your diet.

A 2024 study by Tufts University showed that food cravings are perfectly normal, but the key to sustained weight loss or maintaining a healthy weight is to give in to your cravings only on occasion.

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Posted on April 12, 2024 by heather

Weight Loss Secrets of Vinegar

Maybe it’s my German heritage, but I’m a sucker for tart or sour foods. While some of my German favorites – sauerkraut, mustard and bratwurst, pickled vegetables – aren’t always on the healthy side, one popular ingredient is: vinegar.

What is Vinegar, Anyway?

Vinegar is an acidic liquid which is processed from the fermentation of ethanol. This process yields the key ingredient acetic acid (ethanoic acid), which we’ll get to later.

There have been many health benefits ascribed to vinegar over the years, particularly apple cider vinegar. While it has often been considered a folk remedy with little evidence to back it up, in recent years its health benefits have been backed by scientific studies.

  • A 2006 study found that acetic acid, the main component of vinegar, had a cholesterol-lowering benefit in a test group of rats. They saw significantly lower total cholesterol and triacylglycerol. High levels of triglycerides in the bloodstream have been linked to a higher risk of heart disease and stroke.

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Posted on April 11, 2024 by Jason

How to Start a Healthy Living Blog

Guest blogger, Jennette Fulda

Guest blogger Jennette Fulda is the author of “Half-Assed: A Weight-Loss Memoir,” which chronicles her 200 pound weight loss, as well as the forthcoming “Chocolate and Vicodin: My quest for relief from the headache that wouldn’t go away.” She blogs at PastaQueen and designs web sites at Make My Blog Pretty.

If you’ve ever tried to lose weight, you’ve probably tried the usual tricks like eating less and moving more, but have you tried blogging?

Typing doesn’t burn many calories, but blogging can provide accountability and support, which are a helpful part of any weight-loss plan.

Here are some tips for how to become involved in the healthy living blogosphere:

1) Lurk before you blog.

Start by reading other healthy living blogs. Not only are they inspirational, they’ll give you a sense of what you’d like your own blog to be like. Some bloggers give detailed accounts of their diet and exercise plans, while others delve into emotional eating. Foodies like to take photos of their healthy meals and often share recipes. You can find a directory of healthy living bloggers at sites like Blog To Lose or Fat Fighter Blogs, though the latter hasn’t been updated recently. Most blogs feature a blogroll, which is a list of other blogs they recommend, which can send you clicking for hours.

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Posted on April 11, 2024 by GuestBlogger

Recognizing the Signs of Emotional Eating

Guest blogger Vicki L. VanArsdale is a freelance writer specializing in health and fitness. She’s a certified personal trainer through the National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM) and a nutrition & wellness consultant through American Fitness Professionals & Associates (AFPA). You can read more about health and fitness on Vicki’s blog.

We’ve all been there. We want to lose weight. We eat right and exercise. We follow our healthy eating plan. Then one day something causes us to go off track. Instead of having one cookie we eat the whole bag. Some kind of emotion triggered this response but instead of facing it we binge and then feel guilty. We are emotional eaters.

I once weighed 250 lbs. Another time I weighed 235 lbs. Without a doubt my extensive weight gains were tied to my emotions. I was an emotional binge eater and food was my friend. Food didn’t judge me. Food didn’t belittle me. Food made me feel good and provided comfort. It helped me forget my troubles for a while.

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Posted on April 10, 2024 by GuestBlogger

Vitamin Guide A to Zinc: Vitamin K

Vitamin K is not a vitamin we typically hear much about. But, it is no less important in the functions of our body. Vitamin K helps the body make protein that is necessary for regulating normal blood clotting. It also works with Vitamin A and D in helping to build bones and kidney proteins. There have also been some recent studies that have shown that Vitamin K may improve the strength of bones if added to one’s diet through a variety of fruit and vegetable sources.

Vitamin K deficiency creates a problem with blood clotting, as not having enough of it in your diet will cause the blood to clot at a slower rate. The problem then becomes excessive blood loss, which with injuries can be serious and have increase risks for death.Vitamin K deficiency can lead to hemorrhages. (more…)

Posted on April 10, 2024 by Amy

Will Your Morning Cereal Cause Cancer?

Could your favorite morning cereal be giving you cancer? I know, scary. But, there is a real concern among scientists who think that too much folic acid may increase your odds of developing cancer. Enriched grains, like those found in cereal, snack bars, and other foods get a boost of folic acid, the synthetic form of the B vitamin folate.

Interestingly, the extra fortification is not meant for us, but as a protection for fetuses from developing rare but tragic birth defects. It appears to have worked, as the number of these birth defects has dropped by about 19 percent since 1998.

But, for women beyond their child-birthing years and men of all ages, the effects may be harmful.

“The more we learn about folic acid, the more it’s clear that giving it to everyone has very real risks,” says researcher David Smith, PhD, a professor of pharmacology at the University of Oxford in England.

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Posted on April 9, 2024 by Jason

Pepsi’s New Designer Salt: Healthy or Health Hazard?

You may have heard in the news recently that PepsiCo created a salt for its Lay’s potato chips (and other Frito products) that will reduce salt content. At first glance, it seems like a gimmick. You might even think they are trying to make people think that their snack products are healthier. But, there’s actually more to it than that.

I talked with the Director of Public Relations and Marketing, Aurora Gonzalez, about the new salt and got some interesting health-related information.

Frito-Lay cares about making a good product. They were the first company to remove trans fats in favor of sunflower oil. They are thinking about sodium in terms of “if there is something we can do, we should do it.” They know people are concerned about salt intake. They also know that people like seasonings, and products with seasonings tend to have higher salt. So they’ve been looking into sodium and playing with the structure to reduce the total sodium content. They’re doing it because it’s the right thing to do. Frito-Lay realizes consumers struggle with salt intake. Basically, they are trying to make a small dent, while keeping up the integrity of the quality ingredients.

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Posted on April 8, 2024 by Rebecca

10 Spring Vegetables and Fruits You Should be Eating

Emily Fonnesbeck is the Registered Dietitian for the Biggest Loser Resort, and joins us today to share some of the healthiest seasonal produce of spring!

Spring is here! I love the warmer weather, flip flops, tulips, blossoming trees and especially… spring produce! If I had to list my favorite fruits and vegetables, most of them would be on this list. Spring produce always seems so refreshing after a long cold winter.

Here are some fruits and vegetables you will see popping up in grocery stores and on produce stands. I have tried to give you tips on what to look for when purchasing them as well as how they can help you nutritionally.

Apricots: Try to purchase these ripe or just under ripe. If ripe, try to eat within a day or two or if they need to ripen, do so in the refrigerator. Fruit with a green tinge will not ripen properly so avoid those. Wash apricots just before eating to preserve quality. Apricots are good sources of vitamin A and vitamin C for immune function and maintaining healthy cells and tissues. (more…)

Posted on April 7, 2024 by GuestBlogger

It’s National Public Health Week!

Did you know that this is National Public Health Week? With the tagline of A Healthier America: One Community at a Time, the nationwide initiative that encourages everyone to promote healthier choices one-by-one seems like a no-brainer. One person, one change – the incremental amounts of positive effort that each of us makes can turn into big changes in the world around us.

In a study commissioned by the American Public Health Association, entitled A Healthy America Study, 21 percent of subjects responded that they were interested in making changes to their lifestyle in order to become more healthy. Tops on the list of changes that intrigued them? Changes to dietary habits.

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Posted on April 6, 2024 by Carmen

Dr. Michael Roizen Interview: Survey Says Patients and Doctors Not Connecting on Healthy Living

Are you a picture of health? Many Americans these days think they are healthier than they really are, according to a recent survey by GE and the Cleveland Clinic. I had a chance to chat with acclaimed physician, author, and “Real Age” expert Dr. Michael Roizen. He is the Chief Wellness Officer at Cleveland Clinic, in addition to being the co-author of YOU: On a Diet and subsequent books in the series.

In our conversation, Dr. Roizen explains the surprising outcomes of the “GE Better Health Study” survey, which asked  more than 2,000 Americans age 18 and older, and more than 1,200 physicians, nurses, pharmacists and dietitians about their healthy living attitudes, behaviors and barriers, as well as the state of the doctor/patient relationship. We share those results below.

Listen now to my interview with Dr. Michael Roizen.

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Posted on April 5, 2024 by Rebecca

Tune in: 175-Pound Weight Loss Follow-Up on Oprah

Tune in this Monday, April 5 to the Oprah Show when Oprah follows up with a previous guest who lost 175 pounds.

It was a stand-up-and-cheer weight loss moment on an Oprah episode a few months back, but what happened when the guest went home?

Has she kept the weight off? Or has she regained it all back?

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Posted on April 5, 2024 by heather