Diet and Nutrition

In Organic We Trust Food Documentary Earns This Skeptic’s Seal of Approval

I’m pretty skeptical when there’s a new food documentary that hits the scene. I’ve been scared in to or out of so many things because of this genre. Since Morgan Spurlock first freaked us all out with Super Size Me, or once the revolution rose up with viewings of Forks Over Knives, I’ve learned to take all these films with a grain of salt and consider the source.

Today, a new food-doc film is being released to the masses. I got an early screening of In Organic We Trust, and reluctantly agreed to watch it and review.

I expected another film assuring me of the horrific dangers of pesticides from the mouth of one hippie farmer and/or some suited lobbyist swearing that those darn hippies are out of their mind, “there’s no need for organics, pesticides won’t hurt you.” About 10 minutes into the film I was impressed, engaged, and intrigued. In Organic We Trust was on to something. (more…)

Posted on January 22, 2024 by Lacy

American Idol’s Mariah Pulice Reveals Her Struggles With Anorexia

As American Idol kicked off its twelfth season, the judges rolled into Chicago to hear auditions. One contestant in particular got attention for her voice, but perhaps more for the struggles she had gone through just to be standing there. Mariah Pulice admitted to America that she was in the early stages of recovery from anorexia.

Anorexia is an eating disorder that affects nearly 24 million men and women in the United States, according to the National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders Inc. (ANAD). Pulice falls into the most common gender and age group to struggle with the disorder – teenaged females.

Pulice admitted on last Thursday’s episode that her struggles with eating began in junior high school, saying, “I felt a lot bigger than the other girls.” These feeling progressed and Pulice said by high school she recalled only eating a single slice of American cheese each day. For reference, that’s only about 100 calories and maybe five grams of protein. The fact that Pulice was telling this story was impressive, considering how dangerously she was treating her body. (more…)

Posted on January 21, 2024 by Lacy

Find the Right Diet for Your Personality in “Who Are You Meant To Be”

Every year, more new diets pop up claiming to be revolutionary and suitable for everyone. And every year, millions try them out, hoping that they’ll finally find the solution to losing weight.

Dr. Anne Dranitsaris, PhD and Heather Dranitsaris-Hilliard believe that this model is not how weight loss should be approached. In their new book, Who Are You Meant to Be?, released January 1, 2024, they outline how an individual’s personality affects their behavior and, in turn, their dieting styles.

“We’re looking at [dieting] through a different lens than most. What is it that’s driving our behaviors? Why do we people behave like we do around food?” said Dranitsaris-Hilliard.

The mother-and-daughter team’s book is not a diet guide, but it may be applied toward eating styles as part of an integrated look at human behavior. Through their research, they have identified eight different “striving styles” and find most individuals fall under one of these. (more…)

Posted on January 21, 2024 by SarahS

How to Cook with Grapefruit

Besides canned pears and bananas, grapefruit was one of the only fruits my mom could get me to eat as a kid. Back then I covered it in sugar but these days I approach it with a more refined palette, which has made enjoying its natural flavors – and robust health benefits – all the easier.

Health benefits: Grapefruit is an extremely flavorful citrus fruit that’s tangy, tart and sweet enough to please even the pickiest palettes. As a bonus, it also boasts some amazing health benefits. For example, just one fruit provides nearly  25 percent of your recommended amount of vitamin A; and 75 percent of your daily recommended amount of vitamin C, which helps boost the immune system, ward of colds, fight free radicals, and reduce inflammation.

According to Whole Foods, the pink hue found in grapefruits is not only pretty but also indicator of lycopene, which is a carotenoid phytonutrient that’s been found to help fight tumor activity and cell-damaging free radicals. (more…)

Posted on January 20, 2024 by Dana

Sweet ‘n Sad: Artificial Sweeteners Linked to Depression Risk

A study from the American Academy of Neurology has found a link between sweetened drinks and a higher risk of depression, with diet soda being the highest risk. Conversely, unsweetened coffee got kudos for appearing to decrease the depression risk.

“Sweetened beverages, coffee and tea are commonly consumed worldwide and have important physical — and may have important mental — health consequences,” said study researcher Honglei Chen, M.D., Ph.D., an investigator in the Epidemiology Branch at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences.

Researchers studied the drinking habits of 263,925 people between 50 and 71 years old for a year. After a decade they checked back in with them and found 11,311 participants were diagnosed with depression. Frequently consuming sweetened drinks was linked to a modestly higher risk of depression. (more…)

Posted on January 18, 2024 by Jason

Victoria Beckham and Jennifer Aniston Stay Slim and Sexy on the Alkaline Diet

Whenever a skinny celebrity speaks out about the diet she’s following everyone seems to listen, especially when she’s a former Spice Girl. Singer, wife of famed soccer player David Beckham, and fashion designer Victoria Beckham sent shock waves through the diet world years ago when she was seen toting around the diet book “Skinny Bitch.“ Not long after it became a bestseller. Coincidence? We think not. 

These days she’s at it again, peddling another diet trend that’s bound to blow up in a matter of seconds, especially considering other stars like Gwyneth Paltrow, Jennifer Aniston and Kirsten Dunst are on board, too.

As reported by Health, notoriously thin Beckham has recently been crediting her lean figure to the alkaline diet, which is more of a theory than a diet model in itself. The diet is all about keeping our body’s pH levels in balance through the foods we eat and perhaps more importantly, the foods we avoid.

Though research on the alkaline diet is limited, it’s based on the theory that because our blood is slightly alkaline – a normal pH level rage is between 7.35 and 7.45 – our diet should help promote and maintain that. (more…)

Posted on January 18, 2024 by Dana

Three Arizona Women Lose 150 Pounds with TeamFit Bootcamp

When you hear the term “bootcamp,” what comes to mind? An angry drill sergeant forcing you to do more push ups than you can count? Well, if you visited TeamFit bootcamp in Gilbert, Arizona you’d find quite a different scene. Yes, there are pushups, but owner and trainer Jeff Vukobratovich prides himself on offering up fun, innovative workouts that will get anyone motivated to pursue a healthier lifestyle.

Vukobratovich made TeamFit easy for people to fit into their everyday lives. Each 45-minute workout is a fast-moving, cardio-driven, strength training session that incorporates agility drills, core strengthening, and more. It’s no surprise people are seeing results.

Cindy Fredette, 46, is one of those success stories. Fredette is a teacher and mom of three living in Gilbert. She weighed nearly 165 pounds and was a size 14 when she started TeamFit. Today she weighs just 125 pounds and feels more toned than ever at a size 5. In total, she’s lost more than 25 inches. It all started with a willingness to try something new for the sake of improving her health. (more…)

Posted on January 18, 2024 by Dana

Barack Obama’s 3,000 Calorie Inaugural Lunch Menu

Monday’s inauguration of President Barack Obama will be filled with pomp, circumstance, and a jam-packed schedule of invite-only events where the president and Mrs. Obama are the guests of honor. And it all starts with the Inaugural Luncheon.

This year’s luncheon is a bit on the indulgent side, admittedly. We first checked out the menu with excitement, but as we read through the three courses our smiles quickly turned to frowns, not at the extravagance of the dishes but their sky-high calorie counts.

One full serving is more than 3,000 calories! Lobster in clam chowder sauce, grilled bison and a finish of rich apple pie with homemade ice cream take no time to zip past a single day’s calorie reserve. CalorieCount.com‘s Rachel Berman, RD, CSR, CDN – who compiled this year’s Inaugural Luncheon nutritional statistics – was a little shocked by the numbers, too, and felt that although it’s fine and even healthy to treat ourselves once in a while, the figures were a bit too to justify. (more…)

Posted on January 18, 2024 by Dana

4 Health Resolutions it’s Safe to Break This Year

By Kati Mora, MS, RD from AroundThePlate.org

Let’s face it. Some rules are just meant to be broken and with less than 80 percent of people actually achieving their New Year’s resolutions anyway, maybe its not such a bad idea to break a few of them this year. Instead of completely giving up on your resolution though, consider the reasons why your resolution was set to fail. If you can identify the reason, chances are you will be much more successful the second time around.

Although goals should be specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and timely, they should also be fun and challenging. If they fail to be the latter it is often much harder to stick with, no matter how well-defined or memorable. So this year consider ditching your previously set resolution and unresolve to do something. It sounds counterintuitive, but if you take a look at these four resolutions to break, you will see that sometimes breaking ties with your staple resolution can help you achieve your ultimate healthy goal.

Working out at the gym. Who says that a gym membership is the only way to get ripped this year? Instead, consider working out in the great outdoors. Not only will you save a little money, but you’ll reap the benefits of being one with nature. In fact, multiple studies have shown that exposure to natural light improves mood, concentration, and may even help you heal faster. Winter activities like skiing, snowboarding, tubing, sledding, and cross-country skiing are just a few ways to get moving outdoors during the colder months. Snowball fights and snow fort building will also work up a sweat with a lot of fun along the way. (more…)

Posted on January 17, 2024 by Around The Plate

Twitter’s Most Popular Fitness Memes Help Millions Lose Weight

Support systems are nice to have when you’re trying to live a healthy lifestyle. For the past few years, the Twitter world has offered information and a support network for people who may not have found it IRL (in real life). By adding a certain hashtag to your tweet, you can instantly join with the most supportive and trusted weight loss resources online.

We’ve found a few Twitter super memes, or communities, that have really grown to be the go-to resources for socially supported weight loss, fitness, and health. Not only do you get a virtual support group, but accountability, guidance, and access to resources are part of the package, or rather hashtag.

#RunChat

The running community is brought together on #runchat, organized by @RunningBecause and @iRunnerBlog. Whether a beginner or marathoner, there is a place for you at #RunChat. About one million people unite on this trending topic on Twitter. Followers benefit from a sense of a community that cares deeply about the sport of running and are willing to share information with each other. Join this Twitter community on #RunChat on the 2nd and 4th Sunday of every month at 8pm EST. (more…)

Posted on January 17, 2024 by Samantha

Get Healthy Snacks from NatureBox for You, Give a Meal to Feeding America

I love snacks. I especially love when they are healthy and tasty. But have you ever, like me, gone into the kitchen for a snack, opened the cupboards and fridge, and turned away dejectedly, only to return and do the same thing in five minutes? Or, worse yet, grabbed whatever was closest to munch on no matter how unhealthy it was? Enter NatureBox here to help.

NatureBox is a service that sends a package of nutritious snacks to your door every month. No more trouble finding a snack when afternoon hunger strikes, you need to grab something on your way out the door, or dinner isn’t ready yet and you need a nibble to tide you over.

But as its name implies, NatureBox doesn’t send candies or brownies or anything of the sort, they pick five different, minimally processed foods each month to keep their subscribers guessing. Standard fare looks something like bags of dried fruit, interesting combinations of granola, and flavored nuts and seeds. Some of the snacks are unusual, but all look worth a try, like Garden Tomato Crunchies, Big Island Dried Pineapple, Roasted Umami Nuts, and Country Ranch Peas. Each box contains fifteen to twenty servings. (more…)

Posted on January 17, 2024 by SarahS