Blog: Nutrition and Exercise for Health and Weight Control

High-fructose corn syrup “may be cheap in the supermarket, but in the environment it could not be more expensive,” Michael Pollan, says author of In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto.

“The environmental footprint of HFCS is deep and wide,” writes Pollan, a prominent critic of industrial agriculture. “Look no farther than the dead zone in the Gulf, an area the size of New Jersey where virtually nothing will live because it has been starved of oxygen by the fertilizer runoff coming down the Mississippi from the Corn Belt.” (more…)

Today I asked my daughter what we should have for Sunday lunch. Charity said, “Macaroni and cheese”. A few minutes later she saw me cutting up carrots and parsley and said, “You’re not putting that in it are you? I hate carrots and I don’t like the green stuff either.”

Later on at the table, this veggie-hater had no difficulty with the carrots or the parsley. Cheese sauce can make even the most hated vegetables yummy.

Here’s the formula: (more…)

The research behind the Mediterranean diet has proven it to be the way to a longer, happier life - reducing risk for many chronic, debilitating conditions including heart disease, diabetes, cancer, and Alzheimer’s. Three primary strategies are involved in this healthful way of eating.

I. Consume Healthy Fats, mostly from plants

The Mediterranean Diet is not a low-fat eating plan. It is a plan which is high in healthful omega-3 fatty acids and low in harmful omega-6 fats from conventionally raised livestock and processed foods. (Animals that are pastured have a much healthier fat profile in their meat, milk, and eggs than products from animals confined in feedlots and cages.) (more…)

Follow these tips for daily meals and exercise and you’ll have something far better than standard health insurance. You won’t likely need your doctor for anything more than yearly checkups to hear how healthy you are!

1. Vegetables: 2 1/2 or more cups a day (may include legumes)
2. Legumes: 3 or more servings of lentils, peas, peanuts, soy products, or beans daily
3. Fruit: 3 or more each day
4. Whole grains: 3 or more servings daily (more…)

It’s unrealistic to imagine that significant healthcare reform is possible in view of the facts concerning what Americans really want and who profits from our current system. Presently, U.S. healthcare is primarily a disease management and crisis care system.

Who Wants It This Way?

Both healthcare providers and the American public benefit from this unhealthy arrangement, supported largely by drugs and surgery. Providers never lack for income as the majority of patients suffer from chronic conditions that are managed for decades, usually until death. (more…)