LowFat-related stories
Eat This To Ditch Diabetes Medication
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| Photo: Sam Catchsides, Flickr |
Most of us don't want to take prescription drugs unless we have to, and a recent study found that when it comes to diabetes, we might not have to rely on medication to control our blood sugar -- maintaining a healthy diet could be enough. The four-year study from Italy found that participants who were able to stick to the Mediterranean diet were able to lower their blood sugar levels and keep them down over time, suggesting that a healthy diet could reduce the need for diabetes medication. What's more, the study also found that the Mediterranean diet was more effective at controlling blood sugar levels than a traditional American Heart Association-style low-fat diet.
Participants in the study who followed the Mediterranean diet were encouraged to eat lots of fruits, veggies and lean protein, as well as moderate amounts of whole grains and healthy fats, like olive oil. Additionally, they were instructed that carbohydrate intake should be no more than 50 percent of their daily calories, and they reduced their overall calorie intake -- from an average of 1,800 to 1,500 for women, and 2,600 to 1,800 for men.
So, basically, then, healthy food and eating less improves your health? Uh, this isn't exactly news, but experts are still fairly excited about the findings because this is the longest study of it's kind thus far. Still, it's not completely clear whether diet alone is enough to eliminate the need for blood sugar medication, but one thing is obvious: Your are still what you eat.
Find more about the Mediterranean Diet here.
Withdrawn: Advice on Low-Fat Diets for Weight Loss!
Jonny's Take, Diet & Weight Loss, Nutrition & Supplements

Recently, researchers combed through hundreds of previously-published studies that investigated low-fat diets in comparison to other weight loss strategies. They looked at the Cochrane Controlled Trials Registry, MEDLINE and EMBASE, all sources of rigorously-controlled published trials. They were interested in the ability of people to actually sustain weight loss over a long period of time, so they investigated the studies in which people were given specific dietary advice (like eat a low-fat diet, or reduce calories). Three independent reviewers poured over the studies that met the criteria for inclusion.
Guess what they concluded?
Fitz's Cool Tools: Kettle Brand Baked Chips are Drool Worthy
Diet & Weight Loss, Reviews & Products, Nutrition & Supplements
Yummy. Delicious. Insanely flavorful. I feel silly gushing over potato chips, but "Oh my God!" Kettle Brand just introduced some new baked chips, and I was blessed with a bag of both Hickory Honey Barbeque and Sea Salt & Vinegar flavors.
To be honest ... even with my super-human-like fitness guru discipline, it was really hard to stop eating them. I had to physically place the bags in another room to avoid devouring every last chip. I'm a salt-loving type of lady, and I was ecstatic when the world introduced baked chips. Are they as pure and nutritious as fresh blueberries? No! But are they a much healthier version of something most people really enjoy? Absolutely.
If you are a lover of chips and a hater of fat thighs, Kettle Brand Baked Chips are going to float your boat. Each serving of "around 23 chips" contains only 120 calories, and only 25 come from fat. Have high standards and when party time comes, serve some of these. Dip will not be necessary!
Label Lies - Don't Trust Diet Foods
Think switching to low fat foods on January 1st will help undo all the diet sins of the holidays? Think again. An investigation out of the UK done by consumer watchdog Which? found that the only part of you that would slim down if you switched to diet foods is your wallet. As an example, they point to two notable breakfast items: Special K, a cereal marketed as good for your waistline, and Corn Flakes, a regular one. Both have the same calories.
"Just because foods are labeled as light or advertised as diet brands, it doesn't mean they're the lowest calorie option, says researcher Nikki Ratcliff. "Look at other similar products on the shelf – you might find some that don't brand themselves as light actually have fewer calories or less fat or less sugar, so you'd be better off buying them instead." Read the rest of the findings here.
Sounds like sound advice to me.
25 summer salads
Every week, in our CSA crate, we get at least two large bags or several bunches of greens. We've never eaten so many salads and sauteed greens in our life, and honestly, I'm getting a little bored. But today I've found new inspiration in Prevention's 25 summer salads.These mouth-watering salads are loaded with fruits and/or veggies, many of them straight from the summer garden. Not only that, they're deliciously low-cal and low-fat, not overloaded with heavy dressings or fried meats. This gallery also reminds us, in the form of a yummy looking bean salad, among others, that salads don't always have to contain lettuce. I'm just not sure which one to try first!
What about you? What's your favorite summer salad recipe?
Fitz's Fit Family Disney Vacation: Day 2
Healthy Aging, Healthy Habits, Healthy Places, Healthy Relationships, Stress Reduction, Vegetarian, Work/Home Balance, Womens Health, Celebrities and Entertainment, Healthy Kids, Cellulite, Obesity, Healthy Events, Diet & Weight Loss, Fitness, Celebs & Entertainment, Reviews & Products, Motivation, Alternative & Green Health, Nutrition & Supplements, Men's Health
As I've been leading you through the paces of enjoying the best Walt Disney World has to offer, without trashing your health and fitness habits, this is one of the easiest days to master. On our second day of vacation we headed to the holy land of wholesome family fun, The Magic Kingdom. Ahhh yes! This is the place where children squeal, Mommies well up with tears of joy on a regular basis, and Daddies shout like kids themselves on the roller coasters. It's also a place where every last visitor is likely to do a ton of physical work. In fact ... read on and you'll learn exactly how many calories we burned during this day. It's insane!
So! Our day consisted of pushing the kids in the double stroller, then watching the castle show. Did I mention each of my children weigh almost 40 pounds? Then we pushed the kids in the double stroller some more, and rode some rides in Fantasyland. In fact, before we even stopped for lunch, we pushed the double stroller again and rode rides in: Fantasyland, Tommorowland, back to Fantastyland, Mickey's Toontown Fair, Adventureland, back to Tommorowland and finally landed back in Adventureland for lunch. Then we ran circles in the water squirters at both Ariel's Grotto and Pooh's Corner to cool off for about an hour. The latter half of the day resembled the first half, except it seemed even busier.
Substitutions to lighten up your favorite recipes
Diet & Weight Loss, Nutrition & Supplements
There is always room for an occasional treat in any healthy diet. (Occasional is a concept I have trouble with!) But though an occasional treat won't bust your good nutrition track record, if you're serious about lowering the amount of fat and calories you eat, you can tweak your favorite recipes to make them healthier.For instance, the oil that's used to make brownies moist can be switched out for applesauce. You can also use half of the nuts called for in a recipe and toast them instead, which will bring out their flavor. Other tips include:
- Use only the white of the egg to save 60 calories.
- Use canned pumpkin instead of vegetable oil.
- Add a puree of potato, celery, and onion to soups instead of cream.
- Choose meats that are labeled "loin" or "round" or ground meats that are 90% lean.
- Cook poultry with the skin on, but remove before eating.
- Use vinegars instead of oil based marinades.
- Replace salt and soy sauce with seasonings instead.
The cost of cooking healthfully
I don't know about you, but I love flipping through the pages of Cooking Light magazine (or, really, any gourmet food magazine). The pictures are gorgeous and inspiring, and the recipes are well written -- even I haven't managed to botch any of their recipes. However, while the pictures and dishes send me into a state of bliss, there is something I don't like -- the ingredient lists that run the length of my arm and cost that, plus a leg.For special occasions, I'm willing to spend a bit extra for special ingredients. However, if I'm looking for an everyday recipe that I can make on a weekly basis, I don't want to have to keep purchasing a huge variety of expensive ingredients. I want a recipe that looks and tastes like a fancy dish, doesn't pack a ton of calories, and doesn't blow my budget every time I make it. Is that so much to ask?
I generally try making the recipe as it's written the first time, and remove or substitute something for the expensive ingredients after I've tasted it. It's not a perfect system, but it works for me. Do you have tricks to keep costs down on would-be cost-prohibitive recipes? Or do you just bite the bullet and make the dishes will all ingredients listed? Or, do you just find healthy recipes that are inexpensive to make in the first place?
Be aware of liquid calories
HealthWatch, Diet & Weight Loss, Fitness, Nutrition & Supplements, Men's Health
Counting calories can be a drag, let's face it. Some people do it some of the time, while others never do it at all. I'll be the first to admit that it's a hassle. So, what do we do instead? We make educated guesses. A body of research has shown that we're wrong more times than we're right, so maybe this isn't the best approach, either. What, then, is the best way to go (providing we leave counting every calorie we consume out of the question)? Well, for starters, being at least reasonably aware of how many calories we're drinking.
That's what researchers from Perdue University suggest, pointing to the common practice of overindulging on liquid calories. More specifically, the researchers tested whether people who consumed many calories in drink form before a meal would take those calories into account when it came time to actually chow down. Turns out, the vast majority of people didn't.
Moreover, volunteers in the Perdue study reported feeling full -- whether they ate whole foods before their meal or had a drink. The major difference was that the group who had a drink (ex. watermelon juice instead of an actual piece of watermelon) consumed more total calories for the day.
Try these, with less than 3
Diet & Weight Loss, Nutrition & Supplements
The healthy recipes found at this Mayo Clinic destination all contain less than three grams of fat. Neatly organized into categories, including appetizers, beverages, desserts, main dishes, salads, and side dishes, these 100+ recipes might be all you need to build a lifetime of low-fat menus.
Got a taste for some smoked trout spread, a strawberry banana milkshake, a few slices of mango salso pizza, or a peach crumble? The Mayo Clinic has the scoop on these tasty treats and more. Stop by when you get the chance.
Don't fall for these labels
Diet & Weight Loss, Nutrition & Supplements
- All Natural. Sure, it might not be heavily processed, but it still may be high in calories, fat or both.
- Cholesterol-free. This doesn't mean fat free. In fact, many cholesterol-free foods are high in saturated fat
- Low fat or fat-free. This doesn't mean calorie-free so watch out.
- Trans fat-free. Just because there's no trans fat, doesn't mean there's no fat. There are probably some dangerous saturated fats in there.
- Low sodium. It's a good idea to reduce your sodium but look into what they've replaced it with. It might be sugar.
- Good source of ... Many unhealthy food items claim their healthy by emphasizing one nutrient. For example? Macaroni and cheese packages claim it to be a good source of calcium (it is) but they don't mention that it's very high in fat, sodium and calories.
- Multi grain. Multi grains aren't necessarily whole grains, so check the label.
- Baked. Backed chips are a better choice than fried ones, but they're often high in calories and sodium
- Organic. There's no doubt that organic food is better than regular stuff, but just because it's organic, doesn't mean it's healthy. It can still be high in organic fat and organic calories.
Are Health Foods Making Us Fat?
Diet & Weight Loss, Nutrition & Supplements
A new study shows that if you view an item as healthy, you tend to overeat said item. So while it might not be the item itself that's making you fat, it's your perception of it. This is understandable -- when I have butter in the fridge, I don't use it nearly as liberally as I would olive oil, even though the two items probably have roughly the same amount of calories.
So here are some things to keep in mind: Fat-free doesn't mean calorie-free. Healthy fats are better for you, but they have just as many calories as unhealthy fats. And just because the commercial says it's a healthy choice, chances are it's not. Be your own diet detective.
Kimkins: The new Atkin's?
It sounds viable but to be honest, I wouldn't give them my money because of their website. They have a link that says '10 Reasons to Join'. I clicked on it and it asks for my Email address, which I gave, but then I got an Email saying the I would be Emailed the 10 Reasons, one a day, and I haven't received them yet. I get that it was just a ploy to get my Email address, but why make a potential customer go through hoops just to find out why they should join? It seems a bit sketchy to me.
I'm curious to know -- have you tried Kimkins or a variant? Were you craving carbs like crazy?
Low-fat products does not always mean low-calorie
You see it everywhere now: the "Low Fat" marketing pitch. Many processed, frozen and fresh foods are advertised this way, along with plenty of beverages. That's grand, but fat content is not the only variable to look at when deciding when to eat or drink something.How about something sweetened with Splenda (instead of real sugar) that has "low fat", but still packs a wallop of calories? It still may not be a good choice.
So, how do food manufacturers add in taste once they've removed all the fat from those various products? Why, adding sugar, of course. So, "very low fat" may also mean "incredibly high calories".
All American foods get sort-of healthy makeovers
Healthy Recipes, Diet & Weight Loss, Nutrition & Supplements
Summertime makes me crave some of those all-American foods we all love: apple pie, chocolate chip cookies, potato salad and root beer floats, just to name a few.If your cookouts aren't complete without these classics, check out WebMD before you cook. They have tips on how to lighten up chocolate chip cookies, apple pie and cornbread, just to name a few.
They also have recipes for baked potato chips, potato salad, Waldorf salad and others you may like.
Would I eat any of these "lightened" versions? Personally, not a chance.























