Many magazine and internet articles recommend chewing each bite of food 30, 40, even up to 80 times as a weight loss strategy. And it’s true: Chewing your food more thoroughly can improve digestion, promote weight loss, and affect the nutritional value of foods—but there is a surprising twist to this story. Find out more in this week’s episode of the Nutrition Diva podcast.
Several of you have written with questions about oats and oatmeal—in particular, whether steel-cut (or Irish) oats are healthier or more nutritious than regular oats. I think some of you will be surprised by the answer. Read or listen to this week’s podcast here.
For many years, we’ve been told that eating small, frequent meals is a good strategy for weight loss. In part, this was based on a body of research showing an inverse relationship between meal frequency and BMI. In other words, studies found that people who reported eating more times per day were less likely to be overweight.
I’ve always been confused by this. In my observation, people who eat more frequently usually end up eating more calories overall–and eating more calories generally leads to higher body weight.
In a new paper in the Journal of Nutrition, Megan McCrory and colleagues explain why the research data don’t seem to line up with reality: the research data were wrong. Continue reading “A Chink in the Small, Frequent Meal Theory”
Pickling is a time honored way to preserve foods with no refrigeration. But what happens to the nutritional quality of vegetables when you pickle them? It depends on the method. Find out which kinds of pickles are super good for you and which aren’t in this week’s episode of the Nutrition Diva Podcast.
Anything strike you about this photo (from the February 2011 issue of Shape Magazine)?
Continue reading “This Picture Speaks a Thousand Calories (or So)”
I’ve been giving a lot of interviews surrounding the launch of my book this month and reviewers seem fascinated by the subtitle: What to Eat, What to Avoid, and What to Stop Worrying About.
As I wrote in the introduction to the book, “that last category may be the most important of all…In addition to helping you make the best choices at the grocery store and navigate the many decisions you make throughout the day, my ultimate goal is to help you prioritize the things that will make the biggest difference in your health.”
I can’t think of a better illustration for this than the e-mail I received this morning: Continue reading “Are Your Nutrition Priorities in the Right Order?”
Contrary to what you may have heard, most people actually are getting the recommended amount of calcium…and those who take calcium supplements often take way too much. Find out whether you need a calcium supplement and how much you should be taking in this week’s show.