Diet and Nutrition

5 Ways Pecans Keep You Healthy

The October Featured Guest Blogger of the Month, are two talented ladies from ChewOnThat Blog. They’re two foodies who can’t help but share their knowledge of and love for the edible everyday on their blog. They’ve always got an engaging anecdote as to why this or that recipe warms their heart, and the recipes are always a hit! Tune in every Tuesday in October to hear what Maxine and Hillary are chewing talking about!

When it comes to my food, I’m typically a purist. No soy sauce on my sushi, no ketchup on my hot dog and definitely no nuts in my brownies. Why would you want to ruin a perfectly good brownie with chunks of crunchy nuts? Call me crazy, but I like to taste my food just the way it is.

I will admit, however, that nuts can add a certain depth to many dishes and this time of year, nuts can be hard to avoid, especially pecans. Yes, ‘tis almost the season for pecan pie and yet another temptation to woo you away from your diligent diet. But nuts aren’t actually all bad. In fact, pecans have a lot going for them when they’re not mixed with large servings of sugar and butter. Here are five ways that pecans help keep you healthy and lots of pecan recipes to make it easy!

1. High in Antioxidants
Pecans are high in vitamin E, which is a great cancer-fighting ingredient. Vitamin E protects lipids in the blood from oxidizing. When LDL “bad” cholesterol oxidizes, it is more likely to clog arteries and vitamin E helps prevent this. Pecans are ranked among the highest cancer-fighting nuts and have been shown to decrease the risk of heart disease, cancer and some neurological diseases.

Pecan Chicken Salad
Pecan-Crusted Walleye Pike
Orange Pecan Noodles
Cranberry Pecan Pie with Cornmeal Crust (more…)

Posted on October 21, 2023 by GuestBlogger

Sensa Diet Review

sensaWe are truly living in an era of mind-boggling technological innovations. When it comes to food, science is creating some pretty wild stuff that is making genetically-modified tomatoes look like cell phones from the early nineties.

One of the latest class of products that are designed to help us lose weight are tasteless food additives that are sprinkled on food. Once ingested, they have the power to induce feelings of fullness by acting on certain areas of the brain. It’s kind of like what may happen if hoodia were to meet your salt shaker. But unlike many dietary supplements, these food additives don’t contain hoodia, drugs or any other stimulants.

One such product is Sensa. (more…)

Posted on October 21, 2023 by heather

Kids Need to Double-up on Vitamin D

Recent research has proven that the past recommendation for vitamin D was insufficient, showing that consuming higher intakes is safe and that increased levels of Vitamin D has numerous health benefits. Therefore, the case for adequate amounts of Vitamin D continues to grow and the American Academy of Pediatrics is now doubling its recommendation that kids should get of this vitamin. (more…)

Posted on October 20, 2023 by Kinsey

4 Steps to Creating New Habits

Excellence is an art won by training and habituation. We do not act rightly because we have virtue or excellence, but we rather have those because we have acted rightly. We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit. Aristotle

Habits are extremely powerful and, by nature, something that we do without thinking. Aristotle’s quotation can be illustrated with the simple explanation of saying “excuse me” after you sneeze. As a child, you had many things to learn about sneezing; your parents probably had to teach you to put your hand (or elbow) over your mouth, to use a Kleenex, not to sneeze on other people, and to say “excuse me.” Sneezing is automatic, but everything that follows is learned. Ideally, from the time you were able, every time you would sneeze, your mother would follow up with “say excuse me” to which you would oblige. Also, at some point your mother would explain to you that this is appropriate social behavior, although she probably said you need to ‘be polite’ to have friends. (more…)

Posted on October 20, 2023 by Brooke Randolph

5 Things You Must Know About Breast Cancer Prevention, but Probably Don’t

The guest blog today is written by Jade, an author specializing in disease prevention and alternative health information, writing at HealthMiracles.net.

1.  Your underwire bra is highly suspect!
A healthy lymphatic system is key to cancer prevention.  It cleans out toxins and waste products in our blood and is fueled by proper blood circulation.  Many important lymph nodes are located in the armpit area.  The wire from a bra commonly cuts off circulation in that area, disabling the lymph system to properly eliminate cancer-causing waste materials we accumulate.

2. Plastic water bottles can’t be trusted!
It is known that carcinogens are released from plastic bottles when exposed to sunlight.  Although you can be careful not to expose your bottled water to sunlight, who is to say how much exposure it received in transit? (more…)

Posted on October 17, 2023 by Natalie K

The FitBit Gets More Fit

Maybe you have already seen this latest device in fitness technology, but for those of who haven’t, the FitBit is a small device that clips onto your clothing and tracks how much (or how little) you move during the day. As anticipation ramps for its release, the FitBit seems to be getting bigger, however, not in size, but in popularity. The FitBit just recently received a cool 2 million dollars in venture capitol funding. Not bad for a device that hasn’t even started clocking calories burned on people. The FitBit isn’t due for release until late 2024/early 2024. (more…)

Posted on October 17, 2023 by heather

The ‘Walking Bus’ Program Gets Kids Moving

It’s an old adage that has survived for generations: Everyone’s parents and grandparents had to walk to school – in the snow, mind you. Most of us have gotten the guilt trip from somebody. Well, the sentiment may no longer be legitimately prefaced with “back in our day…”. That’s because if a new trend catches fire, it will make sure that kids have it the same way their parents did.

It’s called the “Walking School Bus,” a program where kids walk to school in groups along specified routes, picking up classmates along the way. It’s not only great for saving gas, but kids get a little exercise along the way. And oh, adults are along for the ride to assuage worried parents.

Only 13 percent of kids walk to school these days. That’s down dramatically from 30 years ago, when 66 percent of kids walked. (more…)

Posted on October 16, 2023 by Jason

Eva Longoria Gains Weight, Sparks Rumors

My wife, of all people, has said that Eva Longoria is the most beautiful woman in Hollywood. Who am I to argue, but I wisely never expound upon her belief in this very easy-to-argue stance.

Hollywood starlets seem to have it all – money, fame (if that floats your boat) and the glory of a high profile career. But even with all this, the most beautiful woman on the planet (that’s my wife speaking, not me) isn’t immune to the occasional imperfection. (more…)

Posted on October 16, 2023 by Jason

Which Meal Plan Would You Try?

With so many options out there – Which of the main meal delivery diet plans are you most likely to try?

[poll id=”6″]

Read all of our meal delivery diet reviews here. Also make sure to check out our BRAND NEW meal delivery comparison chart.

Posted on October 16, 2023 by Jimmy C

Blog Action Day 2024: Poverty Poses Diet Problems

People in poverty or in the lower income brackets get the short end of the stick in so many ways. Besides living in neighborhoods that are infested with crime and drugs, it’s hard to afford things like health care and nutritious food.

The health care part is pretty obvious, especially for anyone remotely aware of what it costs. But the idea of being at a disadvantage when trying to stay thin and eating a healthy diet may not be so obvious.

I’ve expressed my views here before on what I see as the unfortunate side effect of cheaper items that can be bought via mega-stores, like Wal-Mart. The “big box” stores, as they are called, give us the ability to buy many different items for much less since they buy in massive quantities. But the problem is, much of that food is processed and prepackaged, which is invariably high in sodium, preservatives, starch, refined sugar, and ultimately calories. (more…)

Posted on October 15, 2023 by Jason

To Eat Fish, or Not to Eat Fish – That is the Question

I was reading an article discussing whether or not it is safe for people to eat fish. There is much controversy and debate over pregnant women not eating fish because the mercury found in fish can have a detrimental effect on fetal brain development. However, a more recent study showed that children of women who ate fish on a frequent basis did better on tests displaying higher cognitive scores compared to the children of women who did not eat fish.

There is no doubt that fish is a healthy food– it’s a good source of high-quality protein, contains essential nutrients, are low in saturated fat, contain omega-3 fatty acids and DHA; all of which are vital to brain growth and development and help reduce your risk of heart disease. However, some caution is needed regarding eating too much fish that contain high amounts of mercury. (more…)

Posted on October 14, 2023 by Kinsey