I’ve had patients tell me that when they’re trying to watch what they eat, they sometimes just stop eating in restaurants altogether. Between the tempting menu descriptions, the huge portions and no way of knowing how many calories they’re eating, they often feel like they’re simply better off just staying home.

I understand what they’re saying, but since going out to eat is a pleasure we probably don’t want to give up forever, I think that learning your way around a menu and figuring out how to ‘dine responsibly’ are skills worth mastering.

If you only eat out a few times a year, I’d probably just tell you to go out and enjoy yourself. But we eat, on average, about a third of our meals away from home, so it’s worth paying attention to some of these common restaurant diet traps. Read more »

People who live by themselves have some real challenges when it comes to cooking healthy meals. Most recipes are geared to 4 or 6 people, extra half heads of broccoli or lettuce that don’t get used just go to waste and – let’s face it – sometimes it just seems like too much trouble to cook for just yourself. But, as the old saying goes, ‘forewarned is forearmed’. If you plan ahead and prepare, cooking for yourself can open up a whole new world beyond frozen pizza and instant noodle soup. Read more »

I always find it interesting to see new natural food products enter the mainstream – and hemp foods are a good example. Hemp is reportedly one of the world’s oldest domesticated plants – grown primarily as a source of fiber for paper and textiles – yet it seems that only recently has it entered the mainstream as a valuable food source, too. When you say hemp, it does capture some people’s attention, since hemp is technically known as cannabis sativa – which many people know as marijuana. But a different variety of cannabis sativa is used for food products so eating them won’t produce any psychological effects. Read more »

People often ask me if there are certain foods that they should – or shouldn’t – eat at the same time.  Some people have heard, for example, that “if you don’t eat proteins and carbs at the same meal, you’ll lose weight” – but a study published about ten years ago¹ debunked that idea.  On the other hand, there is another concept around ‘food combining’– sometimes called food synergy – which recognizes that certain foods offer bit more nutritional benefit when eaten together than if you eat them separately.  Think of it as a nutritional ‘one and one makes three’.

• Colorful veggies with a little fat.  Many fruits and vegetables contain compounds called carotenoids – natural pigments that give foods like tomatoes, carrots and spinach their beautiful hues – from the pigments lycopene, beta-carotene and lutein, respectively.  Carotenoids function as antioxidants in the body, which is one reason why fruits and vegetables are such an important part of a healthy diet.  But if you eat your veggies with a little bit of fat, your body is able to take up more carotenoids.  So adding some healthy fat from avocado or olive oil to your salad will help you absorb the lutein from the romaine lettuce, the beta-carotene from the carrots, and the lycopene from the tomatoes. 

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It’s late spring, and you’re standing in line at the supermarket, staring at the magazines.  The covers are graced with people who are tanned, toned and fit and the headlines scream, “get your bikini body now!” or “there’s still time to shape up for summer!”  And many of us do toss around the idea of getting rid of a little excess flab that’s been hiding under bulky sweaters and long coats all winter.  But how many people actually attempt to get in shape for summer?  And, when they slip into their swimsuits, how do they feel “letting it all hang out”?  In order to find out, Herbalife sponsored a nationwide survey* – and the results were really surprising. 

The survey asked 1000 men and women whether they tried to diet and exercise their way to a better body for the summer, and how they felt about being seen in swimwear.  And a large majority – 69% of the women and 76% of the men – said that they put forth absolutely no effort to get in shape for the summer.

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