According to a recent study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), added sugar is doing more than just packing on the pounds. Researchers discovered that all the sweetness is associated with several cardiovascular disease risk factors, including lower levels of HDL cholesterol (the “good” cholesterol) and higher levels of triglycerides in the blood.
There are two times a year when people decide that losing weight is imperative...immediately. One of those times is coming up next month, when the unofficial start of summer kicks off with a wave of crash diets, detox diets and whole-body cleanses. The swimsuit season is second only to New Year’s as a time when otherwise healthy, intelligent people put themselves through crazy restriction diets and extreme exercise programs. What they don’t realize is that crash dieting doesn’t work, and it may do some serious damage to your health. So to answer the headline question, yes, crash diets are bad for you.
I grew up on a farm, and while I may have failed at being a farmer (I’ve never driven a tractor or willingly set foot in a barn), there are a few things I learned to appreciate about my upbringing. One of the best things about farm life is farm food. From fresh-picked strawberries in early summer to the late August sweet corn, to me farm food is far superior tasting than anything I could buy at the local supermarket. Summer treats were snapping peas from the garden and snitching raspberries from the patch. Frozen and canned fruits and vegetables brought a taste of summer to winter.
It might be time to hit the juice! No, not the kind that got Mark McGuire in hot water—the real kind from fruits and vegetables (mostly veggies). If you’ve ever talked with someone who routinely juices, you know how passionately they believe in the health benefits of raw juice. Once you start, it usually doesn’t take long to turn into a juicing evangelist. If you’re curious, here are the top three reasons to try juicing at home.
I love pizza. I admit it. I’d much rather order a large pepperoni, sausage and banana pepper pizza (thin crust of course—got to watch those carbs!) than sit down to a meal of fresh fruits and veggies. And it’s not just the taste that I prefer. The cost of pizza and other junk foods is so much lower than their healthier, whole food counterparts. As it turns out, this cost disparity may be the key to nudging Americans toward healthier diets and away from the junk food aisle.
We set a record! Nearly 30 comments in one weekend from people hoping to win a sample pack of Spiru-Tein protein powder. Thank you for your enthusiasm and participation in our latest blog giveaway. It was another smashing success. Now I know most of you probably just want to find out if you won, but if I told you now you’d miss out on the suspense.
Protein powder and protein shakes are no longer just for bodybuilders and exercise gurus. People of all ages and backgrounds are discovering the benefits of being able to easily supplement their diets with a healthy boost of protein. The only problem is that there are so many protein powders out there to choose from and they come in a wide variety of flavors. Plus there’s soy protein, whey protein, rice protein and even pea protein. Wouldn’t it be nice if you could try a few out...for free?
My first encounter with my diagnosis of a “Systemic Yeast Overgrowth” a.k.a. Candida, came in late October. I went to an Allergist because I had a chronic runny nose, constant sneezing and blocked airways. Never had I experienced respiratory allergies. This was new to me. It started in the spring and went on relentlessly into the summer and fall. What could it be, I wondered? My blood work revealed that a yeast overgrowth was the culprit.
How do you determine if you’re eating genetically modified (GM) food? The answer is you probably don’t even try, because the United States has yet to enact any regulations requiring foods that are genetically modified to be labeled as such. Some estimate that nearly 70% of all grocery store products contain one or more GM ingredients, but are these man-made foods healthy? A growing body of evidence is leaning towards no.
I teased about it a little last week, but it’s officially time to announce the latest Swanson Vitamins Blog giveaway! I told you last week, and on Facebook, that this week’s giveaway features five individual products that all begin with C and are all related. Only one other hint was given: I told you to think “kitchen.” A few Facebook fans had some incredibly good guesses, but no one correctly guessed all five products. So what are they and how do you win? Read on...
Would you like fries with that? How about some polydimethylsiloxane and monosodium glutamate? Mmm, sounds tasty, doesn’t it? Well, it may not sound tasty, but chemical food additives are often what make processed foods taste so good (and what gives them shelf lives of 75 years!). I realize most of our readers probably are frequent drive-through fast food eaters, but you may not realize that there are thousands and thousands of chemicals contaminating American foods. Today, let's look at three common ones.
How could a couple of slices of whole wheat toast for breakfast be killing you? It’s not like you’re deep frying it and finishing it off with a 12-pack of soda, so what’s the deal? Well there’s a secret hiding in that bread—a secret ingredient known as gluten, and more and more people are discovering how dangerous and toxic this pesky protein can be for their bodies.
Are you hosting a New Year’s Eve party this year? Then why not usher in a new decade in healthy style? This year, challenge yourself to prepare a menu of healthy food—appetizers or main dishes—and surprise your guests with creative new tastes that won’t bust their weight-loss resolutions!
One point of controversy seems to come up every year in early December. That is, does “Business XYZ” go with Happy Holidays¸ Merry Christmas or nothing at all? I don’t have the answer to this multicultural holiday puzzle, but I’m pretty sure it isn’t option three. Whatever XYZ chooses, someone will inevitably have a problem with it. Thus the cliché “You can’t please ‘em all.”
Free stuff, on the other hand, is universally celebrated. So in the spirit of...uh...winter, I decided to give away 10 of our new cookbooks to our blog readers. But before I get to the free cookbooks, I want to share some of my favorite Christmas memories—yes, I'm completely ignoring the holiday controversy and going with Christmas—with the hope of hearing some of yours in the comment section (hint, hint).
So you think you can read, huh? Well, consider food labels. The first question is do you read them. The second question is do you understand them. Just because you can read the words doesn’t mean you really understand what you’re reading. Don’t be offended, most people don’t have a clue when it comes to extricating the true facts from the back of packaged foods. You may think know, but chances are you don’t.
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