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.

Jonny Bowden, author, nutritionist and weight loss coach cuts through all the misconceptions about diet and fitness to help you transform your body, your health and your life.

Have you heard that a low-fat diet is the way to go for weight loss? Of course you have. Who hasn't? And like much "conventional" advice, it's turning out to be bogus.

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?

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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!

Fitz's Cool Tools: Kettle Brand Baked Chips(click thumbnails to view gallery)

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12 "healthy" foods that really aren't(click thumbnails to view gallery)

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Healthy salad additions(click thumbnails to view gallery)

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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.

Fitz's Fit Family Disney Vacation Day 2 @ Magic Kingdom(click thumbnails to view gallery)

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• 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.
  
  

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Light in calories, but not on the budget(click thumbnails to view gallery)

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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.

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• 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.

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