Q. Do alternative flours such as almond flour offer any real health advantages and if so (or if not), why?
A. It’s hard to say that something is good for you based entirely on what it isn’t! Whether alternative flours offer any health advantages over wheat flour really depends on what you’re avoiding (and why), which ones you choose, and what you’re making.
I get a lot of questions about what kind of protein powder I recommend. I have some tips about what to look for in a protein powder and how to use them in this week’s episode.
Q. How accurate are the calorie counts on nutrition facts labels? What about the nutrition information at restaurants? Is anyone checking them for accuracy?
A. Consumers are often surprised–and dismayed–to learn that the information on nutrition facts labels is not nearly as accurate or reliable as they imagined. Part of this is built into the system. The FDA allows manufacturers and packagers a surprisingly wide margin of error–the information can be off by 20% in either direction and still be in compliance. For example, if the nutrition facts label says that a food contains 300 calories, it may actually contain anywhere from 240 to 360 calories.
Q. I have a lot of trouble with low blood sugar. Any tips for what I should or shouldn’t be eating to help manage this?
A. My first question would be whether low blood sugar (hypoglycemia) is really the problem.
Several years ago, my sister told me she had problems with low blood sugar. She hadn’t actually been to see a doctor. But she’d noticed that when she felt head-achy, queasy, or shaky (which was fairly often), drinking some juice or eating some crackers usually made her feel better–for a little while. She started carrying little boxes of raisins and animal crackers around in her purse and eating them throughout the day to keep her blood sugar from dipping.
As she told me all of this, I wondered if her “treatment plan” was actually part of the problem. Continue reading “Low Blood Sugar? Maybe Not.”
Last week, the FDA decided that there wasn’t enough evidence to warrant a ban–or even a warning–on artificial food dyes. In this week’s podcast, I have advice for parents who want to avoid them anyway, as well as a closer look at the studies that the FDA reviewed. Read or listen to it here.
Although Mr. Harper and the editors of Shape Magazine have so far declined to comment on my challenge, the response from readers has been really fascinating. If you’ve been following the discussion in the comment thread for yesterday’s post or on my Facebook page, then I apologize for repeating some of that here. But something that’s come up in the discussion strikes me as so significant that I really want to underline it. Continue reading “Why Make Such a Fuss About a Good Habit?”