Food Insight: A Facelift and Birth Announcement

From the title of this post, you would think this blog is about surgeries and new babies. But what I’m actually talking about is a great resource for health experts and people who are looking for science based information on those “foggy” food and nutrition topics. I’ve been helping International Food Information Council (IFIC) Foundation [...]

Is The New Smart Choices Packaged Food Label Useful?

I first wrote about the Smart Choices labeling program in November 2008, after it was rolled out at the American Dietetic Association Food and Nutrition Conference. In a nutshell, it is the food industry’s stab at taking all the “front of package” labeling from individual companies (smart spot, sensible solutions, etc…) and giving it some [...]

Healthy Eats: Starbucks New Salads and Smoothies

Last week, I posted about the healthy foods makeover Starbucks gave itself called “real food, simply delicious” (all natural ingredients, whole foods, and as few ingredients as possible). Since then I had the chocolate banana Vivanno smoothie with the espresso shot as a quick lunch. It was delicious. At only 300 calories it wasn’t enough [...]

The End of Useless Dieting Books

In this post, I’m going to talk about what I don’t Like About “The End of Overeating” by DAVID A. KESSLER, MD.
Even as I type I am annoyed with myself because I hesitate to give the book any press – even bad press! But I can’t keep these opinions bottled up. Of course, I would [...]

Do the Dietary Guidelines for Americans Have a PR Problem?

I know I should be blogging about swine flu – isn’t everyone?
But instead… let’s talk about the USDA Dietary Guidelines… they will be revised for 2010 (mandated by law every 5 years). No, it is not nutrition experts trying to stay in business… it’s a government thang…
I was just reading a post by [...]

Sports Drinks Tax to Fight Obesity?

I’ve seen some lame ideas in my day, but this one takes the cake. The Washington Post reports that Kelly Brownell thinks the government should tax soda and sports drinks as a way to curb obesity rates in the United States. (Brownell is a professor of psychology at Yale University and director of the Rudd [...]

Is Gluten-Free the New “Fat Free”?

Hordes of new gluten-free are falling onto store shelves faster than my IRA. The gluten free market is expected to grow by $1 billion over the next three years – from $1.6 to $2.6 billion by 2012).
Now, this is a welcome change for anyone with celiac’s or a gluten allergy, sensitivity, or intolerance. It [...]

Are Food Companies Saying Bye-Bye to HFCS?

Have you seen the new Pizza Hut commercial for “the natural”?
With a multigrain crust, all-natural pepperoni or Rustica sausage, all-natural mozzarella cheese and all-natural sauce made from vine-ripened tomatoes, you’ll fall in love with pizza all over again.
Natural.You would think it would be as simple as natural = nature = fresh fruits and veggies… but [...]

Is the “Smart Choices” Program That Smart?

This is the first year since I’ve been involved in dietitics that I missed the big annual meeting – Food Nutrition Conference and Expo (FNCE). I was running the 2008 Marine Corps Marathon instead! I loved the marathon, don’t get me wrong, but I love FNCE too. Not only do I get to see colleagues [...]

Calories on Restaurant Menus About to Go Mainstream

Before you know it calories (and other nutrition info) may soon be on all chain restaurant menus nationwide. Why? Call it the Domino Effect. California became the first State to require nutrition labeling of restaurant menus… Once one State jumps, others will follow. In addition, if national chains need to post the information in one [...]