Diet and Nutrition

Lactose Intolerant? Discover Which Dairy Products You Can Still Enjoy

If you’re like us, you’ve started to think more seriously about your diet than ever. And not just for weight loss purposes, but for the sake of optimum health and pinpointing which foods may be doing more harm than good.

My primary cause for concern is dairy as I was lactose intolerant growing up. Despite seemingly “outgrowing” my intolerance as an adult, I still notice that dairy can make me feel poor from time to time.

Lucky for me the National Dairy Council (NDC) is perking its ears to the cries of people like me and thousands of others who face similar intolerances. The good news is, these diet discrepancies don’t necessarily mean you have to give up dairy. It just means you have to learn which products may work best for you.

To spread the word about National Lactose Intolerance (LI) Month, the NDC held a Twitter party in late February to equip the LI population with helpful tools and resources to better manage their dietary needs. The council sought to inform the public of the important nutrients dairy can provide in our diets, as well as the many dairy products that those with LI can still consume. (more…)

Food Blogger Spotlight: Laura Wright of The First Mess

In a sea of healthy food bloggers, Laura Wright of The First Mess has carved a niche all her own as not only a gifted writer and photographer, but an unstoppable force in the kitchen. Her recipes can be described as healthy, rustic and always adventurous.

Every time she announces a new post I rush to begin poring over every word, taking in the breathtaking photos and then finally skipping down to the recipe to savor every ingredient she lists. If you stop by Laura’s blog, I have a feeling you’ll do the same. She simply never disappoints.

I’ve been following Laura’s blog for about a year now and have always wondered where she draws her inspiration from. This week I finally got my chance to ask. We recently had the pleasure of speaking with Laura about how “The First Mess” came to be and how she approaches food, health and life. Here’s what she had to say.

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Girl Scout Troop Raises Money for Edible Garden Instead of Selling Cookies

Last month, we vocalized our distaste for Girl Scout Cookies in a highly read article, Why You Should Never Buy Girl Scout Cookies. It’s not that we don’t like the troops, many of us worked hard for those same badges. What we don’t like is the message these cookies send, the ingredients they’re stuffed with, and missed opportunity to do something so much more with these young minds.

When we were tipped off to what Girl Scout Troop 2753 is doing in California, we were thrilled. Why isn’t every troop doing this, we wondered.

One of the troop’s members, Alicia, dons her Daisy uniform and says, “My Girl Scout troop is not selling cookies but we are raising money for our fruit and vegetable garden at our school.” (more…)

Diet vs. Exercise: Which Works Best for Weight Loss?

By Bob Greene for TheBestLife.com

There’s no debating it: Weight loss is difficult. It’s no wonder that people who are looking to slim down often try to tackle just one area—either their diet or exercise routine (or lack thereof).

While I’ve always said that you need to incorporate both elements into your life to drop pounds (and study after study confirms this fact), there is something to be said for initially focusing on just one component. No surprise here: As a fitness trainer, I’d recommend that you start off by increasing your activity before you even think about what you are or aren’t putting in your mouth.

It’s not just a personal bias toward fitness that makes me say this. Logic and sound science both suggest you should begin a fitness routine before you start cleaning up your diet. (more…)

The Four-Star Diet is Not a Book for People Who are Attracted to Fad Diets

I would never guess by her images on Google that Laura Wellington used to struggle with her weight. But she uses diet-talk to describe her former mindset when she says, “I’m just in my self-destructive mode, but I can always go back on a diet.” Eventually, Laura does change her perspective in many small ways that add up to a critical mass when she becomes fundamentally changed. Exactly how she did it is not the point. Laura is simply writing about the lessons she learned for living a meaningful life along the way.

Somehow, Laura, a young widow, mother of four, owner of a TV show and brand, turned it all around. In trying to explain how she did it, she was inspired by a presentation, A Leadership Primer, on victory in business and life made by General Colin Powell. She applied Powell’s twenty principles for business to a weight-controlled life, and she sprinkled her new book, The Four Star Diet, with personal anecdotes and advice from inspirational leaders like Gandhi and Einstein. The book has only 136 pages and you don’t have to read it in order.

Laura Wellington believes that weight control is about taking personal responsibility for choices in less than optimum circumstances.  As a result, she asks you to “reflect daily,” “look below the surface,” and “live fearlessly!” When General Powell asserts, “Endeavors succeed and fail because of the people involved,” Laura interprets it as, “Birds of a feather flock together,” and then explains how positive role models provide invaluable visual lessons, while toxic people in your life must change or perish. She takes no prisoners, in the best possible way. (more…)

What You Actually Get to Eat on the Mediterranean Diet

This week, the Mediterranean Diet was put in the spotlight after a highly regarded five-year study, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, found it offers exceptional benefits for heart health. Even the researchers admitted to changing their own diets based on their findings, and people the country and world over are taking a second look at a style of eating that has been lauded as one of the healthiest around. There’s little you can’t attribute to the Mediterranean Diet – of course there is weight loss, but it also improves fertility, reduces risk of Alzheimer’s, manages diabetes, lowers cholesterol, and more. It even adds years to your life; those in the Mediterranean, specifically Ikaria, Greece and Sardinia, Italy, live in what are known as Blue Zones, places in the world where the population outlives anyone else.

What is everyone eating who follows this healthful diet? It’s certainly not rabbit food, and it’s not even what most people consider diet food. It’s some of the freshest, most flavorful food in the world. The Mediterranean Diet is largely made up of fruit, vegetables, nuts, and whole grains, while fish and seafood are also large contributors to the meal plans, followed by less dairy and poultry, and very limited meat and sweets/processed foods. Healthy fats like olive oil are used in place of butter and fresh herbs and spices are used instead of salt.

Take a culinary sneak peek at what a day on the Mediterranean Diet might look like, and consider adopting this style of eating for yourself. (Did we mention there’s wine?) (more…)

Goalvator App Creator Jason Swenk Lost 50 Pounds By Photographing His Food

Call it tedious, but it worked. Jason Swenk, 35, of Atlanta, Georgia lost 50 pounds by doing nothing more than taking pictures of his food. The process started after Jason saw a considerable weight gain once graduating college and getting an office job.

Though he’d always exercised and stayed active, Jason admitted he was filling up on the wrong kinds of foods, relying on whatever was “fast and easy.” This led him to reach his highest weight of nearly 260 pounds.

But when he recognized his habits were causing a change in his energy levels, always leaving him feeling tired and moody, Jason knew it was time for a change. “I also wanted to make sure I could be active and live a long life with my kids,” he said.

To lose the weight, Jason started taking pictures of everything he ate and then recording how he felt hours later. The act of taking pictures of his food spurred an “ah-ha” moment that led Jason to approach dieting differently. “One night I went back to keep snacking and kept taking pictures of everything and it clicked,” he said. “I was eating so much food and from then on, it changed.” (more…)

Let’s Move Pins 1,000 Healthy Recipes Approved Under MyPlate

  • Let’s Move is moving its game online, collaborating with some of the largest media companies in the country, and Pinterest, to get healthy recipes in front of millions of Americans.
  • The effort is a collaboration of USDA’s MyPlate, Let’s Move!, and Partnership for a Healthier America, for which first lady Michelle Obama is an honorary chair.
  • Epicurious, Food Network, Hearst Magazines, Meredith and Time Inc. have been identified as having more than 3,000 recipes that meet MyPlate standards. Those recipes are published across 18 of their properties, including CookingLight.com, Epicurious.com, RealSimple.com, and Delish.com. (more…)

Mediterranean Diet Confirmed as an Exemplary Aid in Heart Health

The Mediterranean Diet has long been lauded for its vast health benefits, often being deemed the healthiest of all diet styles. Heart health now joins fertility, Alzheimer’s, longevity, lower cholesterol, and even diabetes as some of the many ways this diet improves health, per a study released today in the New England Journal of Medicine.

The study found that there is a 30 percent decrease in the development of cardiac disease, including heart attack and stroke, when a Mediterranean Diet is followed. The New York Times reported it was “the first major clinical trial to measure the diet’s effect on heart risks. The magnitude of the diet’s benefits startled experts. The study ended early, after almost five years, because the results were so clear it was considered unethical to continue.” (more…)

Janet Jackson Flaunts Slim Figure at Milan Fashion Week

Janet Jackson attended Milan Fashion Week in Italy this week looking as slim as ever, proving that she knows how to lose the weight and keep it off.

Jackson, 46, made headlines last year for her dramatic 60-plus pound weight loss as an official Nutrisystem spokesperson.

Jackson lost the weight on Nutrisystem Success, which is the meal delivery program’s extension specifically designed to help members transition back into their everyday routine once losing the weight. It also holds more emphasis on daily exercise.

During her time with Nutrisytem, Jackson revealed what always stood between her and any successful weight loss attempts. “Dieting never worked for me, counting calories never worked for me, and denying myself the foods I love never worked for me,” she said. “I needed a better plan, and I found it with Nutrisystem.” (more…)

Meyer Lemon Poppy Seed Pancakes Are a Sweet Twist on Citrus

As a kid I was known as a pancake devourer. As an adult I’ve been deemed the “pancake queen.” Devourer, queen – either way you put it you can tell I love a stack of warm, fluffy pancakes in the morning just as much (or more) than the next girl. So, when I recently caught wind that there was a type of lemon I’d never tried – Meyer lemons – I couldn’t wait to create a new pancake recipe utilizing them as the star ingredient.

Meyer lemons get their name from Frank M. Meyer who worked for the U.S. Department of Agriculture in the early 1900s and brought the fruit back to the U.S. from China where they were cultivated. They are still tart but lack any harsh acidity, and taste slightly sweeter than a regular lemon. (more…)