photo by Masala Cha Photography

I was walking through the mall the other day and I saw a stand selling all kinds of books and products for something called the “cookie diet.” I laughed. Out loud. Are you serious? Yes, they are… that is the sad part.

People are so confused when it comes to exercise/>lose-weight-exercise/>weight loss. We’re an obese nation, so it makes sense that we’d be desperate. But let’s set the facts straight- no short term plan will do any long-term good. Period. Read: do not buy into the cookie diet, the grapefruit diet, the potato chip diet (ok, that one doesn’t exist, but if the cookie diet exists, the potato chip diet probably isn’t far behind)…

A recent article in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition studied the different effects Read the rest of this entry »

Photo by Dima Dmitrijev

You know what I just love about nutrition? It impacts almost everything. If you want to fix a problem, you can usually find a food fix for it. Tired? Get iron from protein like steak. Stressed? Get magnesium and B vitamins from whole grains. Confused and forgetful? Boost your memory with blueberries.

But for vanity sake, we’re going to talk about shiny hair, vibrant skin, and strong nails. Basically, your hair, nails, and skin are a reflection of your diet. It’s like accountability times a bazillion. You can’t eat pizza and coke every day for lunch and expect to have Pantene hair and Sally Hansen nails. Sorry. If your nails are chipping or your hair is lack-luster, you might want to start making some dietary changes. That’s not to write off other factors like over processing etc, but for the normal person, a poor diet is the culprit for dull skin and unhealthy hair and nails.

So, your goal is glamour, and now Read the rest of this entry »

photo by The Original Sean

We’ve all seen the scenario: he eats 4 hot dogs, a pile of chips, an ice cream sundae and a few beers because he’s “trying to gain exercise/>lose-weight-exercise/>weight.” She’s munching on baby carrots and celery trying her best to keep her figure trim. I’m guessing that most women have, at some point, silently cursed a man for having such a super-charged metabolism while Read the rest of this entry »

photo by Programwitch

Sometimes it seems like a mean trick that our bodies play on us. We are stressed out, we have a bazillion things to do, no time to do it all, and then to top it off, our clothes start to fit bad– the muffin top appears, and we get even more stressed out. Ahh. How do we stop Read the rest of this entry »

Today’s NFN is a shout out to the ladies. Specifically any who plan to get prego one day! Ever heard the saying “a chip off the old block”? Well, new research in the Journal of Neuroscience recently attributed new meaning to this well-known adage. Read the rest of this entry »

Something magical happens when a person learns that they can indulge in an ice cream bar without also indulging in the guilt of 40g of sugar; they go nuts and this “magic” ingredient begins to pop up in everything from chocolate to instant oatmeal. Today’s Read the rest of this entry »

If the very sight of PEMDA drags you back to Algebra kicking and screaming, “No! I will not excuse your dear Aunt Sally!” you are in luck. When it comes to your health, reaching and maintaining your ideal exercise/>lose-weight-exercise/>weight has only 2 steps, and while the order of operation to achieve Read the rest of this entry »

My favorite Seinfeld episode points out the truism that the best part of any muffin is the top. Nobody wants the muffin stump; it’s garbage. Muffin tops are coveted…except, well, when it comes to your health.

In nutrition, the afore mentioned “muffin top” is the dreaded accumulation of fat around your mid-section, or visceral fat. Everyone accumulates fat somewhere, but Read the rest of this entry »