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Got Five Minutes? Meditate in a Garden
Tweet Share on Facebook August 27, 2012 CommentRaise your hand if your days are a whirlwind (mine just went up). Meals mostly occurring in meetings? Personal time, if you even have time for it, turbo-charged with a million things to do? Travel lost its glamour years ago? And exercise means power hour at the gym, if you're even able to squeeze it in? Are the results from this busy lifestyle already showing up at your doctor's office in a test result that's a little too high, or maybe in just a general ennui you might be starting to feel?
I have wonderful, welcome, easy-to-use news for you. There is a way to slow down, be fully present, and find your healthy center again, and it's as close as your backyard or even corporate garden (if you're lucky enough to have one). You don't even have to get involved in building, planting, and tending that garden unless, of course, you can't help yourself once you start to see the benefits from being out there. Let's just start with using time in the garden as a quick (I promise!) moving meditation, and see how it grows (so to speak).
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Restaurant Calorie Counts: Will They Change the Way You Order?
Tweet Share on Facebook August 24, 2012 CommentI remember taking a trip to visit relatives in California, and going out to breakfast at a popular chain restaurant. I was in the mood for pancakes. But when I opened my menu, I was hit smack between the eyes—by the calorie count listed next to my breakfast of choice.
Being a registered dietitian, you'd think I wouldn't be shocked by the amount of calories in an order of blueberry pancakes. But I wasn't wearing my work hat when I sat down to breakfast, and something about that high number in black and white made me cringe. I'm not a calorie-counter to begin with, and I have no problem indulging in my favorite treats now and then. Still, seeing that number did make me reconsider breakfast. All of the sudden, my "splurge" seemed more extravagant, and less worth it. I changed my mind about what to order, and decided on something a bit more sensible. In short, the restaurant labeling did the job it was meant to do—it swayed the behavior of a consumer toward a healthier choice.
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HCG Diet: You're Still Here?
Tweet Share on Facebook August 23, 2012 CommentAs a registered dietitian, fad diets are one of my pet peeves. But thankfully, most of them come and go so quickly that they are but a distant memory. However, the hCG diet just doesn't seem to disappear. I first found out about the hCG diet in April of 2008, when I was asked to speak about it on the Fox Morning Show with Mike and Juliet. Three years later, I was on the Dr. Oz Show once again speaking about this, in my opinion, crazy diet.
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Food Fight: School Lunch, a 'Battlefield'
Tweet Share on Facebook August 23, 2012 CommentOne of the more contentious debates in modern public health, as it wrestles with relentlessly epidemic obesity and its protean consequences, is the role of personal responsibility.
At one end of the spectrum are those who believe that because we're in control of how we use our feet and forks each day, a simple matter of making good choices must trump all. At the other extreme are environmental determinists who feel we can never take better care of ourselves until the environment makes that the inescapable default; that only comprehensive policy changes will do. Mayor Michael Bloomberg's proposed ban on large sodas garners support from the latter camp, for instance.
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Kid-Pleasing Sleepover Party Recipes
Tweet Share on Facebook August 22, 2012 CommentThe end of summer always calls for one thing at my house: a sleepover soirée! My kids know late summer nights are coming to an end, so they love having friends spend the night (on a weeknight!) before school starts again. Besides the Twister (yes, we still play this), card games, and a movie, I try to make part of the fun for the kids center around dinner and snacks.
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Sensational Nutrition Headlines: Ignore Them
Tweet Share on Facebook August 22, 2012 CommentDon't blame the media, but the news you're reading regarding the impact of food on chronic disease is almost certainly wrong.
This past year has seen its fair share of sensational nutrition headlines. The New York Times shouted "High-Protein Diet Is Linked to Heart Risks." CBS News told us "Eating Lots of Chocolate Helps People Stay Thin, Study Finds." WebMD warned "White Rice Linked to Diabetes Risk." The LA Times declared "All Red Meat is Risky, A Study Finds." And just last week, CNN asked "Is Eating Egg Yolks as Bad as Smoking?"
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When Nutrition Labels Lie
Tweet Share on Facebook August 21, 2012 CommentWe're all familiar with the standard Nutrition Facts label that appears on all packaged foods sold in this country. The label is mandated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in accordance with the 1990 Nutrition Labeling and Education Act (NLEA) and requires that values for specific nutrients be reported in a standardized format. This law was intended to provide clearer, more transparent information to consumers, and enable them to better compare the nutritional merits of products.
Unfortunately, Nutrition Facts labels are not always factual. For starters, the law allows a pretty lax margin of error—up to 20 percent—for the stated value versus actual value of nutrients. In reality, that means a 100-calorie pack could, theoretically, contain up to 120 calories and still not be violating the law. The same margin of error goes for other nutrients as well, which doesn't bode well for diabetic carb counters, folks with high blood pressure who are watching sodium intake, or moms looking to boost the iron content of their babies' diets. The FDA has never established a systematic, random label-auditing process, and compliance with the law is expected to be self-enforced by food manufacturers.
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Saving Summer Crops: How to Hold On to Your Harvest
Tweet Share on Facebook August 20, 2012 CommentThe school bus is already rolling down the streets here in metro Atlanta, and the seemingly-endless 95-degree heat of summer is starting to break a little. I even wore a long-sleeved shirt for the first time in months the other night, and that means, yes, the seasons are most definitely changing, and summer's bounty in the garden will soon be slowing down and ending. Although an entirely new season filled with what we consider "cool season crops" (lettuces, cooking greens, root crops, broccoli, peas, and more) is equally bountiful here, we won't see our summer favorites again—the tomatoes, cucumbers, and squash on which we've been sustaining ourselves—for months now.
Those of you elsewhere are likely saying goodbye to your summer favorites as well. I know you're busy, but trust me when I say that taking a little time now to capture the essence of summer will benefit you well into the seasons to come. For our friends in even hotter places than Atlanta, I know that, perhaps, summer may be a time when you give your garden a chance to rejuvenate as you head into your tomato season. Save this advice for when that season ends for you as well.
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The Secret to Sticking With Exercise
Tweet Share on Facebook August 20, 2012 CommentThere's a big reason why the average American only gets 17 minutes of physical activity a day, barely half of the recommended amount. Many people give excuses for falling short, usually attributing the gap to some variation of having "no time." The reality is it all comes down to one issue—value.
People do things that are important to them. Every day you set priorities, schedule your time and, for the most part, follow your "to-do" list. The most important things get done and things you care less about are most likely to fall off the schedule.
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The Diet Mentality Paradox: Why Dieting Can Make You Fat
Tweet Share on Facebook August 17, 2012 CommentIf you were to stop 10 random people on the street and ask, "What should a person do if he wants to lose weight?" chances are that most would respond, "Go on a diet." This is our cultural solution to our national obesity problem. And it's making us fat.
A recent study published in the Journal of Obesity demonstrated that normal-weight teenagers were more likely to be overweight 10 years later if they thought of themselves as overweight to begin with. This is not a new observation. Earlier studies, such as one published in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association, identified the same problem: Kids who feel fat are more likely to be fat years later.
