Diet and Nutrition

Oklahoma City Loses Equivalent of 100 Elephants in its Million Pound Challenge

Oklahoma, the sixth fattest state according to last summer’s U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study, has lost one million pounds. OKC Mayor Mick Cornett launched the “This City is Going on a Diet” campaign in 2024 in response to the city’s obesity epidemic. The Big Friendly had consistently been ranked as one of the fattest cities, so Cornett got proactive and hit the red-dirt road to spread the word. When he appeared on Ellen to promote the initiative, thousands of new citizens joined the cause.

The “This City is Going on a Diet” website provided several resources to aid citizens in their weight loss journey. Participants were able to track their weight, browse diets and workout regimens, view videos, and get tips from expert trainers and dietitians. (more…)

Posted on March 28, 2024 by Patrick

Weigh-Ins: Should You Scale Back or Step Up?

By Bob Greene for TheBestLife.com

What kind of relationship do you have with the scale? Is it a trusted friend who helps you stay on track? Do you avoid it at all costs because the reading can make or break your mood…and your motivation? Or do you fall somewhere in between?

There has been some debate over the value of regular weigh-ins when it comes to weight loss. Some research suggests that regularly stepping on the scale—weekly, or even daily—can help you stay on track. That’s because it can be motivating to watch the numbers drop, and it’s easier to catch small gains and prevent them from becoming bigger gains when you’re tracking your weight on a consistent basis.

However, there is a downside to the scale. For some people, those numbers tend to have too much power. A bad reading often translates to a bad mood: If you don’t lose as much as you expected to, or worse, you put on a pound or two, you may feel defeated and be tempted to go off track. (more…)

Posted on March 27, 2024 by BestLifeDiet

How Pepsi Found Itself in the Middle of the Bioethics Debate

Abortion, being the divisive and highly emotional issue that it is, unfortunately makes people jump quickly to conclusions, and in some cases snap decisions. A perfect example of how emotions make us leap before we look occurred when in early 2024, Oklahoma State Senator Ralph Shortey hastily proposed a bill that would ban food “which contains aborted human fetuses in the ingredients.”

Shortey decided to take action after he reportedly heard news through the pro life group Children of God for Life that Pepsi and others were partnering with a company called Synomyx that was using stem cells in researching taste substitutes for sugar. The Internet, and it appears the senator from Oklahoma, got caught up in this to the point where people started believing that fetal tissue was actually ending up in the foods we eat.

Stem cell research

While Shortey played damage control by saying he didn’t think human fetuses were in our foods, it’s hard to dispute what he hurriedly tried to pass into law.

Stem Cells for Taste Testing?

Senomyx has isolated receptors on cells that detect taste, then added them to HEK293 cells, the stem cell line in question. The company can then test countless additives to see which get the desired taste response much more quickly and efficiently than using people in studies. (more…)

Posted on March 27, 2024 by Jason

5 Easy Steps to Going Vegetarian

I have been a vegetarian for about 14 years. I know it makes me healthier and it gives me great energy. I also know it’s not a magic bullet for weight loss and good health. You can do it wrong.

For example, vegetarians can start out as carbitarians. Pasta is an easy dish that pleases most everyone, making it a staple for new vegetarians. Eating lots of fruit and vegetables seems to be easy enough but what else do vegetarians eat? Where does the protein come from?

If you give up all animal products (making the jump to veganism) it can become even more confusing. You may start to rely on overly processed vegan substitutes that can be loaded with extra sugar or chemicals to make up for the missing animal ingredients. (more…)

Posted on March 26, 2024 by Pamela

Mess Hall Makeovers Help Obese U.S. Army to Slim Down

I’d like to nominate America as a candidate to participate in The Biggest Loser 15. But if they’re too busy, maybe the U.S. Army could fill in, considering our troops’ swelling obesity rate is now a national security concern. Apparently, as U.S. citizens ascend toward new heights of corpulence, so goes the armed forces.

The army has historically had stringent fitness demands, and “boot camp” is synonymous with hellacious physical exertion, so the weight gain can’t be for lack of trying. From 1992 to 2024, more than 24,000 soldiers were discharged for falling short of the Army’s weight standards.

Fortunately, the U.S. Army’s Military Nutrition Division may have an answer. In a recent intervention conducted at five dining halls on Fort Bragg, N.C., researchers found that replacing foods heavy in fat and sugar with fruit, veggies, whole-grains, and lean meat significantly improved the nutritional health of the soldiers and led to weight loss. “Go for Green” placards with nutritional information were placed around the mess halls to incentivize the soldiers. (more…)

Posted on March 26, 2024 by Patrick

The Science of Mouthfeel and How it Feeds the Food Industry

I recently discussed how food companies carefully formulate their products for mass consumption. One of the more important elements to making a food desirable is the so-called mouthfeel, the texture and the perception of that texture, good or bad.

I am aware of this phenomenon firsthand, because even though I am knowledgeable about what is and how it is not healthy to put in my body, I sometimes find myself at the mercy of a food. Certain types of chips can make me lose control, but I happen to also be a bit of a crackhead when it comes to anything gummy.

junkfood mouthfeel

Gummies are a really great example of how mouthfeel is used in food manufacturing. There’s something about the tangy taste coupled with the chewy texture that could really set me off on a binge if I wasn’t careful.

In many cases, “mouthfeel” has no sinister connotation at all. It’s used in wine and beer tasting as just one of several descriptive factors when reviewing products. But it also describes how certain foods and drinks are a perfect match, because one is an astringent that makes you “pucker up” and the other is fatty or oily which resolves the dry feel now in your mouth and throat with its lubricating properties. Think red wine with steak or coffee and ice cream. (more…)

Posted on March 26, 2024 by Jason

KFC and Moms Blasted for Using Bloggers’ Children to Sell New Kids Meals

It’s a very common practice amongst mom bloggers to accept products from companies to review or promote to their audiences. The bloggers get everything from candy bars to mattresses and vacations for free and the brands benefit because, for what is usually no more cost than samples of their product, they get a lot of highly influential publicity.

This weekend, some of those mom bloggers came under quite a bit of fire from their peers. Several moms were invited by Kentucky Fried Chicken to visit the restaurant’s headquarters in Louisville, Kentucky to learn about their new “healthy” kids meals and in turn promote them to their followers using #KFCKidsMeals on Twitter. That’s pretty standard, but where eyebrows raised on this publicity event was that the company invited the moms with their kids.

The health of our children is a hot button issue right now, and the #KFCKidsMeals hashtag was practically high jacked by moms condemning both KFC and the participating moms for subjecting their children to what is no better than chemically laden, nutritionally void food.

Leah Segedie, known best as @BookieBoo and the leader of Mamavation, was one of the moms on the outside of #KFCKidsMeals tweeting in. Any time you intersect kids and nutrition you’ll find Leah, and this campaign was no different.

“I basically took control of it to make sure it was done in a fair way without attacking the bloggers involved,” she told us. “But I can’t control what people write on their blogs, obviously.”

Leah spent this weekend tweeting out questions to the moms involved. She wanted to know about MSG, sodium, carcinogens, and other chemical ingredients in the food. Who better to ask than the people sitting right inside KFC HQ? As far as we could tell, no one got back to her with those answers; although, one tweet implied that the company would get in touch with her. (more…)

Posted on March 25, 2024 by Natalie K

A Turkey Meatball Sub is a Healthier Alternative to the Classic

Win a $5 Jennie-O Coupon when you share this recipe on Facebook and/or Twitter by Friday, March 29! Four winners will be selected.

We all know when going through a sub sandwich line that the meatball isn’t typically the healthiest choice, but why does it have to taste so good? The perfectly cooked meatballs simmering in hearty marinara sauce, nestled into a fluffy bun and topped with melty mozzarella cheese – what more could you ask for? How about a version that doesn’t leave you regretting your lunch pick for hours?

This sub sandwich may appear a little complex but it’s so, so simple. Thanks to Jennie-O’s lean ground turkey and Italian turkey sausage, there’s lots of flavor and protein without much fat. Our favorite marinara sauce amps up the flavor and sends the savory factor over the top. Then, we nestled ours into a whole wheat bun and topped it with two slices of low-fat mozzarella and a bit of grated Parmesan cheese. Serve it alongside salad and you’ll be satisfied the healthy way ’til dinner. (more…)

Posted on March 25, 2024 by Dana

Food Blogger Spotlight: Kathy Patalsky of Healthy Happy Life

When I think of vegan food blogging superstars, I think of Kathy Patalsky. Even if you’re not a vegan eater you will absolutely fall in love with the dishes Kathy dreams up on her blog Happy Healthy Life. Expect vibrant and nutrient-packed smoothies and breakfasts, inventive entrees and good-for-you desserts. 

I started following Kathy a few years ago when I got into vegan baking myself, finding it a healthier alternative to many of my favorite desserts. Thankfully, people like Kathy have blazed the trail in making healthy food actually taste good. For that reason I highly recommend you follow her kitchen creations on Healthy Happy Life (also known as the Lunchbox Bunch) where she just released her first cookbook, 365 Vegan Smoothies.

We recently had the pleasure of speaking with Kathy about her blog and her approach to a healthy life. Here’s what she had to say.

Why did you start your food blog? (more…)

Posted on March 24, 2024 by Dana

Hold the Salt: Harvard Study Attributes 1 in 10 U.S. Deaths to High Sodium Consumption

  • A new study from the Harvard School of Public Health suggests 1 in 10 U.S. deaths is linked to salt consumption, with one in three deaths due to excessive sodium consumption occurring before the age of 70. This is compared to earlier studies that claimed sugar was more dangerous, with sugary drinks causing nearly 25,000 U.S. deaths per year.
  • “The burden of sodium is much higher than the burden of sugar-sweetened beverages. That’s because sugar-sweetened beverages are just one type of food that people can avoid, whereas sodium is in everything,” said Harvard epidemiologist Dr. Dariush Mozaffarian, author of both the salt and sugar studies.
  • The research is based on 247 surveys looking at sodium intake and 107 clinical trials measuring how salt affects blood pressure, and specifically how blood pressure attributes to cardiovascular diseases such as heart attack and stroke.
  • Bread and cheese are the top two source of sodium in the U.S., making sodium a sneaky ingredient that nearly everyone consumes daily, likely in too great of quantities. (more…)
Posted on March 22, 2024 by Dana

Gwyneth Paltrow Battled Failing Health, Marriage with a New Diet

Gwyneth Paltrow, Academy Award winning actress, online lifestyle guru, and husband to Coldplay frontman Chris Martin, has just released a cookbook called It’s All Good: Delicious, Easy Recipes That WIll Make You Look Good and Feel Great. The release accompanies recent reports of Paltrow’s health and marital woes.

After experiencing stroke-like symptoms in the garden of her North London home, tests revealed Paltrow had a vitamin-D deficiency, thyroid issues, congested liver, hormonal imbalances and a benign tumor on her ovary. Her doctor suggested she go on a 21-day elimination diet to help rid her body of toxins.

In an interview with SELF Magazine, Gwyneth said, “My doctor, Alejandro Junger, recommended that I cut out basically everything: dairy, sugar, gluten, anything processed. I was like, ‘What the f*** am I going to eat now?'”. (more…)

Posted on March 21, 2024 by Patrick