Category Nutrition Science

A study published this year examined the diets of adults from three different geographic regions of the U.S. and found that sodium added to food outside the home was the leading source, accounting for about 70% of total sodium intake. And, although the amount varied in some subgroups of the study sample, it was still the leading contributor for all groups. (Only about 10% came from salt added at the table or during cooking at home.) This finding matches well with public health recommendations to reduce sodium intake from take-out, convenience and restaurant foods as a primary strategy to decrease sodium intake in the U.S.

Whether you're sad that summer is coming to a close or you’re ready to ring in autumn season with your first pumpkin-spice latte, you can’t deny that the end of summer brings with it a sort of diet reality check. I don’t mean weight loss diet; I mean your overall diet. Even if there is no “back to school” hoopla going on at your house, I’d venture to say that that September’s arrival still means a switch away from the breezy, more impromptu meal style of summer and back to the more organized meal style of fall.  

Coming off of the summer months into full-swing harvest time, it’s easy to load our diets with fresh fruits and vegetables—and as any good dietitian will tell you, that’s a great thing! Take advantage of the ample supply; pile those plates with fresh, seasonal produce and you’ll reap plenty of vitamins, minerals, health-promoting phytonutrients and fiber as well.

A good hike on a beautiful day is one of my favorite ways to enjoy the outdoors. There’s just something about putting on those hiking boots or trail shoes and setting off for a few hours of trekking in the woods that is good for body and soul. It’s also good for working up an appetite (or at least a thirst). Even if you’re just hiking for a short while, it pays to always be prepared with food and drink. Here are a few tips for satisfying your hunger on your next hike…

Let’s face it. Camping and “healthy meal” aren’t usually paired together. Generally, campground cuisine is about what “works” rather than nutrition. After all, how can you prepare healthy foods without a fridge, a microwave, and the other conveniences of your home kitchen?

Wave goodbye to GORP (“good old raisins and peanuts”) and “bug juice” (fruit punch)—staples of my childhood camp days long, long ago. Times change, and certainly kids are more used to eating sophisticated foods than they were back when I headed off to camp with my little canteen and “mess kit.” (I loved the tiny fork and spoon that came with it!) These days, the expectations for camp cuisine is higher than ever, and some camps tout menus that rival those of restaurants! So what’s the problem? There might not be one (lucky you!). But some kids have eating habits or issues that can create anxiety at the dining hall. Here I cover some of the common issues and offer suggestions for helping your camper conquer the chow line.

I’ve heard lots of people claim that they are “afraid” to cook fish at home. I get that. Really. I feel the same way about nice steaks. Why is that? Well first, good seafood (like good steak) can be pricey, and nobody wants to mess up and waste expensive ingredients. Then there’s the intimidation factor: Don’t you have to be a skilled chef to make a nice seafood dish turn out well? What if it comes out dry? Aren’t certain fish supposed to be cooked in specific ways? These are legitimate concerns, and you’re not alone. The thing is, seafood has so much good stuff going for it nutritionally that it’s a shame to shun it at home. To help alleviate your fish-cooking phobia, I’ve put together three tips to address your concerns and boost your confidence. Let’s dive right in, shall we?

Whether you like fish and seafood or not, you’ve probably heard by now that various health authorities are urging Americans to eat more fish and seafood. The 2015 Dietary Guidelines, for example, suggest we consume at least 8 ounces of seafood per week (more if you’re pregnant). And the American Heart Association recommends eating fish—particularly fatty fish like salmon, mackerel, lake trout, herring and sardines—at least twice a week. In general, we are doing better with this: in 2015 the average seafood intake was 15.5 pounds—up about a pound from the previous year. That’s a good sign that people are getting the message, though we are still falling short of recommendations.

Recently, my Guiding Stars colleague and fellow Registered Dietitian Allison Stowell and I presented an hour-long, free webinar on probiotics (you can check out the archived webinar here). We were excited to present on this topic for a few reasons: 1) it’s an area of great consumer interest, 2) new probiotic product development is on fire right now, and 3) there’s LOTS to say about probiotics. The more we dug into the studies and science on probiotics, the more interested in it we became! While developing the webinar we realized we could probably present on this topic for 3+ hours and still not touch upon all the information we wanted to communicate. Who knew microorganisms and the gut could be so fascinating? For the sake of this post, I’ve pared our webinar down to a few main points.

Between all of the things pulling at you for attention, it can sometimes feel like “personal wellness” is something that’s just for others, right? Ah, wellness… that’s that thing for people with more time, more money, easier lives, who are younger, fitter, more athletic, have a spouse to help pick up the slack (or at least have an every-other-week maid), right? Truly, I hear ya! If all you can manage some days is to just drag yourself to bed at a reasonable hour, that’s a victory! The last thing we need is another person telling us what we “should” do to stay healthy and making us feel bad about ourselves if we aren’t cramming every spare moment of our lives with wellness-related behaviors. So don’t worry, I won’t be doing that. I won’t be “telling” you to start juicing, cook every meal from scratch, always pack your kids’ lunches (and do it artfully and with all organic/colorful/whole grain foods), prep your own lunches 5 days in advance and pack them in cute Mason jars and in your free time don’t forget to get to yoga class or barre class or spin class or boot camp class. Nope. You won’t hear that from me.