ArcaMax

You've probably heard how important gut health is to your immune system and to lowering your risk for diseases. The trillions of bacteria that live in our guts are intimately intertwined with our metabolism. They play roles in digestion and nutrient absorption and help maintain our intestinal lining. They may even help preserve muscle as we age....Read more

Should you make the switch to plant-based burgers rather than meat?

At the grocery store where I'm a dietitian, our shelves are bulging with plant-based alternatives, including burgers. Fast-food and restaurant chains, including Red Robin, TGI Friday's, Carl's Jr. and Burger King, have also begun offering plant-based burgers.

Are they ...Read more

I think we've been looking at physical activity all wrong. We often link it with losing weight, but to be honest, it takes a lot of moving to lose a pound or two. As I've learned, the value of physical activity is that it makes you feel better, makes you move better, gives you that sense of joy.

The bottom line? Including some sort of ...Read more

Yogurt, especially Greek yogurt, just might be one of those foods you want to always have in your refrigerator. Granted, it can be tricky picking the best one, but in general, a good Greek yogurt is high in protein and calcium and low in fat. Look for a yogurt with 13 to 15 grams of protein, less than 7 grams of sugar and less than 6 grams of ...Read more

I have a client wanting to try intermittent fasting (where he has long periods of not eating) as a way to lose weight. Does it work?

First of all, a word of warning: It's a diet strategy that can be dangerous for individuals who take prescription medication, those with diabetes or heart conditions and pregnant women. Before you try it, consult ...Read more

My mother suffered from heart disease most of her life, and eventually the disease took her life. We went through stents, heart surgery, two pacemakers, replacement valves -- the best that medical care could give her. Could a change in her diet have made a difference?

I read with interest new research from the American Heart Association that ...Read more

Have you hit a plateau in your weight loss? I'm working with a client now that can't seem to get her weight to budge. Over the past four months, she's lost 28 pounds, about 1 1/2 to 2 pounds a week, which is considered the right amount to lose. That's respectable in anyone's book. Now, though, she's hit a wall. She started at 233 pounds in ...Read more

Most of us think grilling when we think summer. Parties at home usually center around the grill -- burgers, brats, barbecued chicken or steak. Raising cattle on our family farm meant our freezer was full of high-quality beef just waiting to be grilled.

How healthy is it? Depends on how you cook the meat.

"Cooking meat at high temperatures is ...Read more

Tracking Calories

My friend Kim has dropped 25 pounds in the past year. Her secret? Tracking her calories. She uses an app on her phone -- MyFitnessPal -- to know how many calories she eats. Her goal starting out was 1600 calories a day. When she reached a plateau, she dropped it to 1500. At her second plateau, she moved the goal to 1400, which...Read more

Healthy Fats

It is a mystery that it's suddenly OK to eat fat to lose fat. Just how does that make sense?

I grew up in the SnackWell's age -- those no-fat cookies in the green box that you could feel good about eating because they didn't have any fat. It was only later we realized they had more sugar and equal amount of calories compared to "...Read more

Would you eat certain foods if you knew they helped reduce your risk of breast cancer?

If you're like me and have a family history, you probably would consider it.

"Breast cancer risk after menopause may be lowered by as much as 65% by consuming more food and liquids with certain kinds of phenolic acids," according to an article in Endocrine ...Read more

Looking to lose weight before the summer? Here's what real people involved in The National Weight Control Registry collectively agree on -- forget the superfoods, eat a healthful diet, don't splurge and exercise regularly.

That's it. Intentional weight loss boils down to consistency.

The NWCR celebrates 25 years of existence and is deemed "the...Read more

Need to improve your cholesterol?

There are lots of us in that same lunchroom. More than a third of American adults have high levels of unhealthy cholesterol, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Cholesterol -- a white, waxy substance -- is known to be an artery clogger, sort of like the buildup of plaque on your teeth. ...Read more