ArcaMax

For many, reading food labels is like plowing through the latest snowstorm: It takes time and perseverance.

Here's a helpful idea called the 5/20 rule. It helps you quickly decide which foods have a lot -- or not a lot -- of nutrients. If a nutrient meets 20% or more of your daily value, that's generally a lot. If a nutrient has 5% or less of ...Read more

Chocolate and Valentine's Day seem to go together, and while dark chocolate may have some heart-healthy benefits, there are plenty of other foods that love your heart and keep it beating strong.

Heart-healthy foods include the foods that make up the U.S. Department of Agriculture's MyPlate: whole grains, fruits and vegetables, lean protein and ...Read more

With roughly 10% of the typical American paycheck spent on food, it's easy to assume that eating healthy costs a bundle. I hear it often as I counsel patients. But research says otherwise. According to the May 2019 Cost of Food Report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the average adult can eat a nutritious diet for as little as $40 a week...Read more

Most of us wish there was a simple solution to weight loss and eating healthier. If there was just a pill we could take, or a three-point plan we could follow, that would magically result in good health, we would do that. It just doesn't work that way. Like most things in life, it's a journey. It's the daily choices that put us on the path to ...Read more

For some, January's list of things to do includes a month-long fast from alcohol -- a cleanse. Others argue that alcohol can be part of a healthy lifestyle and red wine actually helps lower your risk of heart disease.

What's the bottom line? One word: moderation.

And just what does that mean? Moderate alcohol consumption means an average of ...Read more

Healthy You, Healthy Life

Here are some fun things you can do in 2020 to create a healthier lifestyle. Forget the resolutions; just focus on healthier habits -- and not just in the kitchen.

-- Spend more time with your family and friends. When was the last time you had someone over or met at a restaurant? Don't worry about the dust bunnies; ...Read more

If your resolution in 2020 is to lose weight, try these six mini resolutions that will upgrade your health. Even write them on your calendar -- one for each week, to help remind you. Research has found it helps to break down resolutions into smaller action plans for success.

Make protein a part of every meal. Go beyond that steak for dinner. ...Read more

Can the holidays get any busier? Just when you make it through gift-wrapping and the Christmas cookies, there's the New Year and the inevitable resolutions. When we finally slow down, we realize we need to take a minute and just breathe. (It's interesting our watches have to actually remind us to do that, right?)

So this year, I'm challenging ...Read more

Oh, that holiday weight gain. It's tough to balance all the holiday parties and luscious food with the morning scale. Can you really have your cake and eat it, too, over the holidays -- without adding pounds on the scale?

With the right ingredient swaps, you can. Think yogurt for sour cream, high fiber cereal for graham crackers.

"I succeeded ...Read more

While celebrating the holiday and eating healthy may seem like a tug of war, there are strategies to help.

Don't think all or nothing. If you had a piece of pie (or two) at Thanksgiving, it's not time to give up on eating healthy. When morning rolls around, get back on track. One piece of pie, one meal or one day of overeating isn't going to ...Read more

I often have clients come in asking what they should eat to prevent cancer. What's important to prevent nearly any disease is a healthy diet. That translates to lots of fruits and vegetables, whole grains, lean meat and low-fat dairy. I'm not a proponent of eliminating any food group from your meals.

The American Institute for Cancer Research ...Read more

The cover of the latest Eating Well magazine states, "Celebrate Deliciously." That's my motto for the 2019 holidays. So many of us watch what we eat and labor over making sure our food is healthy that sometimes we forget to celebrate our plates. We are blessed to live in a country of incredible abundance. (My grocery store even has white and ...Read more