That's Fit

Ice cream a favourite indulgence of yours? Would you still eat it if it was made from breast milk? I know what you're probably thinking -- ick. But it's no joke. PETA recently urged ice cream giant Ben & Jerry's to start using milk from human mothers instead of milk from cows to make their famous frozen treats. The idea came after a revelation that a Swiss restaurant owner intended on carrying breast milk at his eatery.

I know I shouldn't find this gross ... but I do. Breast milk is full of important nutrients, but I still think it's best left for babies. What do you think? Is breast milk best? Would you eat this ice cream?

Here's the good news: Americans are waking up to a healthier lifestyle. That's bad news for companies like Krispy Kreme, however, who are suddenly finding themselves struggling with poor sales. So what do you do when you're a company that sells treats and people aren't buying them because they want healthier options?

You start selling ice cream. That's Krispy Kreme's plan, anyway. They're trying to expand their business by offering a new line of soft-serve ice cream. But is the decision a wise one?

A Krispy Kreme donut has 300 calories and 16 grams of fat. A soft-serve ice cream has about 222 calories in 1/2 cup and 13 grams of fat. Which, in my expert opinion (expert only because of my raging sweet tooth), makes the donut still the better option. A donut or a half cup of ice cream for roughly the same number of calories? I'll take the donut every time. But customers who don't have that nutritional information might view the soft-serve as a lighter option, making them believe they're making a healthy choice when really, it's all the same.

A treat is a treat is a treat, which means that no one goes into Krispy Kreme looking for health food. But if it's healthy living that's hurting their sales, maybe Krispy Kreme would be better off looking into recipes for lighter donuts. What do you think?

Food has a very definite connection with our emotions -- it can take us back in time and privide us with the comfort of familiarity when we need it. Chances are, we all have one dish or another that qualifies as comfort food -- what's yours?

eDiets recently revealed what they think are the top 10 comfort foods:

1. Macaroni and Cheese
2. Chocolate Chip Cookies
3. Ice Cream
4. Pizza
5. Grilled Cheese Sandwiches
6. Tomato Soup
7. Popcorn (probably with lots of extra butter!)
8. Chocolate Shakes
9. Pancakes
10. Homemade Soups and Stews

Most of these will not only provide momentary comfort, they'll pad your waistline too. My advice? Avoid everything except tomato soup and find comfort in a good book and a steaming cup of herbal tea.

A recent trip up north took me to a quaint, seaside town in Maine. There, I enjoyed some great hikes, some nice long walks, and the benefit of crisp, fresh air. But, I also enjoyed waaaaaay to many calories at the dozens of ice cream shops that lined the streets. As a kid, I could have eaten these treats with relative impunity. These days, however, these temporary lapses in my fitness judgment can only be afforded if they remain just that: temporary.

It's a natural -- though very unfortunate -- fact that our metabolism tends to slow down somewhere around the age of 25. From there, it slows down by around five to ten percent with each subsequent decade that passes. Does this mean that you're fate is sealed and that you must accept your overweight destiny? Not at all.

By exercising regularly, you can keep your metabolism decline under a great deal of control. For the most part, if you get up and start moving every day you can very well increase your metabolism, or at least keep it to around a 0.3 percent drop, per decade.

I always blame my headaches on food -- not enough food or too much of a certain food usually. Sugar definitely brings them on for me -- it's the reason I gave up sweets more than a year ago -- and sometimes, a snack full of protein helps them fade away. I've never given much thought to these three headache triggers, however. Real Simple magazine thinks they're worthy of a warning, though, so here they are.

• Ice Cream. Yep, I guess this makes sense. I just haven't ever had this type of headache last for very long. That's because it only lasts for about one minute, say the Real Simple folks. "Brain freeze" is caused when cold food touches the roof of your mouth and alters the blood flow in the brain or causes pain on a major nerve.
  
  
• Sex. It's not very common, but it's possible that sexual activity can trigger severe head pain. Usually nothing to worry about, you should see a doctor if the pain recurs.
  
  
• Secondary headaches. Also rare, these headaches are caused by a tumor or aneurysm. If your headaches worsen over time, see a doctor.
  
  

So, these three are possibilities. Think they're responsible for your headaches?

When the days are hot and long, my favourite way to wind down in the evening is this: Walking with my sweetie and the dog to the local ice cream parlour. Once there, we each get a scoop and chad idly on the benches to our neighbours. Then we happily amble home, relishing the last few hours of warm sunlight.

There's only one thing wrong with this picture: The ice cream. Don't get me wrong -- I love it. Sweet, creamy and delicious, there are few things I enjoy more in life. But it's not exactly healthy. It's loaded with calories, fat and sugar.

But there are healthy options. Gelato, sherbet and frozen yogurt are all lower in fat and calories than regular ice cream. Right? right!? What do you think?

Oh, ice cream ... heaven in a bowl. Now that the weather is getting warmer, a trip to the ice cream store is always a welcome treat. But that's exactly what ice cream should be ... a once in a while treat. Eat it too often and your hips (and butt, and stomach ... ) could pay the price. This decadent treat can pack a whopping calorie punch. Newsweek counts down the six biggest ice cream offenders (via Fitsugar).

• Haagen-Dazs Chocolate Peanut Butter (360 calories, 24 grams of fat)
• Ben and Jerry's Chubby Hubby (330 calories, 20 grams of fat)
• Haagen-Dazs Butter Pecan (310 calories, 23 grams of fat)
• Sheer Bliss Pomegranate with chocolate chips (320 calories, 20 grams of fat)
• Ben and Jerry's Vermonty Python (300 calories, 19 grams of fat)
• Coldstone Cookie Batter (300 calories, 19 grams of fat)

If you have to have your ice cream fix, search your grocery store freezer for lighter alternatives such as sherbet, sorbet, frozen yogurt, or light varieties of ice cream. (Be sure to check the label, though. Sometimes "light" isn't all it's cracked up to be.) And, if you're like me, you'll still indulge in a Coldstone "Like it" Cake Batter (with chucks of yellow cake and chocolate shavings) once in a while, because sometimes we all deserve a special treat!

Each week, we'll be naming a Super Food and offering unique ways to use those Super Foods that pack nutritional power. After all, you are what you eat -- make it count!

Peppermint is a flavour we see in abundance: In candies, ice cream, gum, even our Grande Mochas at Starbucks. But peppermint is more than just a sweet treat; It's an effective cure for a variety of ailments, and a healthy flavour to add to your everyday diet.

First and foremost, peppermint has long been believed to be good for your stomach woes, from gas to nausea to gallbladder disease and even stomach cancer. And today, it's more than a just a belief -- According to this article from the Harvard School of Medicine, peppermint is an effective natural treatment for the symptoms of Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS,) including pain, cramping, bloating and diarrhea. In fact, in studies, 75% of participants with IBS saw a major reduction in symptoms when they took peppermint capsules daily.Pretty impressive, huh?

If you've gotten into the habit of reading the labels before you eat and/or buy something (and please tell me you are--it's so important to know what you're putting in your body,) you may have come across an ingredient called Carrageenan. Curious as to what it is? If you're not, you should be.

So, just what is carrageenan and is it safe? Turns out it's a kind of gel that's extracted from raw seaweed mostly found off the coast of Ireland. In food, it's used to thicken things like dairy products (think ice cream,) salad dressings, pates and puddings. It's also used in shampoo, toothpaste and shoe polish. But don't worry -- it's perfectly harmless and safe to eat.

(Via Fitsugar)

If you're trying to lose weight, or even just trying to eat healthy, you've probably long since given up on pizza and ice cream. But not so fast, says WebMD. Here's their list of five foods that aren't as bad for you as most people believe:

• Red Meat. Protein is great for curbing hunger and building muscle. Just make sure you get an extra-lean cut.
  
• Ice Cream. Studies show that women who eat a serving of full-fat dairy a day lose more weight than those who don't. Who knew?
• Eggs. Eggs are a great, low-fat source of protein, and contrary to popular belief, they're not bad for you heart -- at least in moderation.
  
• Pizza. With a few healthy modifications, pizza can be a perfect meal. Opt for thin, whole wheat crust with tons of veggies and just a sprinkling of cheese and you're getting one well-rounded dish
  
• Bacon. Well, Canadian bacon, that is. It's got a third of the fat of regular bacon, and none of those worrisome nitrates. Not a fan? Try turkey bacon.
  

Never mind that honeybees are disappearing at an alarming rate. Never mind that there's no clear answer why. Never mind that if they disappear altogether, so will at least a third of our food supply that depends on bees for pollination. Never mind all of that. The mysterious bee disappearance could lead to a shortage of ice cream, people. And that is a true emergency, in my book.

Haagen-Daz, which uses all natural ingredients, says that the honeybee crisis is having a big impact on their business. Forty percent of their flavors use ingredients that are dependent on bees, including strawberry, toasted pecan, and banana split. Haagen-Daz says that they may have to change their flavor offerings in the future, and have recently donated a large chunk of money toward researching colony collapse disorder. They're also putting out a new flavor this spring, Vanilla Honey Bee, that will raise money to put toward research as well.

In all seriousness, the bee issue is a serious one. Some research has pointed toward a pathogen or virus as the cause, but until researchers can pinpoint and reverse the problem, the bees remain at risk.

Last week I told you about some crazy diet ideas, including the burrito diet. Here's another seemingly crazy diet idea: The milkshake diet. Um, yeah. It's called Slim Fast. But no, these are real milkshakes, the kind with tons of calories. Congressman Chris Cannon swears by it, according to this article.

Seriously. Cannon claims to have lost a lot of weight from drinking milkshakes. Here's why: the milkshake kept him full for long periods of time, longer than any other quick snack would. He got the idea from a book called The Ice Cream Diet, which formulated a weight-loss plan that allowed for a daily indulgence of ice cream. For Cannon, it works because his busy schedule includes lots of travel, and he needs something he can rely on to provide energy when he's in a rush.

I can see the logic here -- milkshakes and ice cream can fill me up too -- but they don't seem to be the healthiest meal alternative. If you're thinking of following a milkshake diet, I would suggest relying on smoothies instead -- at least then you can get some fruits and veggies in. What do you think?

Oooooooh, the evil "trigger" foods...we all have them and we all love to hate them. They're the foods that are usually found in your diet somewhere right before, or right during, a fall off the dieting and healthy eating bandwagon. Either that, or they take a sneakier role and fool you into thinking you're eating healthy (the baked potato is famous for this move) when you're really not. We all have our own particular triggers but there's no denying that some trigger foods are common to the majority of people:

Have you ever heard of eating a hot pepper or a spicy dish as a way of cooling down in the summer? I never had, until I came across this article in The Seattle Times where they're comparing the cooling properties of ice cream vs. beer vs. spicy food to see which works better in the heat of the summer.

Unfortunately, it doesn't sound like they find a very clear answer as all the choices have a strong list of pros and cons. Ice cream may make you feel cooler at first but it will warm you up later as your digestive processes get going. Beer will dehydrate you, which will inhibit sweating, and spicy foods will actually make you feel warmer at first followed by cooling due to the sweat (if there's a breeze). So I guess it's a 'pick your poison' kind of thing. Or better yet, stay in the shade and hire somebody to fan you.

When it's hot out, big meals and cooking are just about the last thing I want to have anything to do with. Summer is a time of salads, fruit and anything cool from ice cream to iced beverages. While many of these summertime treats may sound light and healthy, there are often extra calories hidden in some of the season's food favorites. Check out this list to find out what to avoid in order not to ruin your healthy-eating plan:

• Salads - Sure most greens are great for you, especially when topped with a low-cal dressing, but beware of anything like coleslaw and potato salad that is full of high-fat, high-calorie mayonnaise.
• Hot dogs and hamburgers - To much of these much-loved summer foods can ruin a diet. You don't have to give them up though, just substitute in an alternative like turkey dogs or veggie burgers from time to time.
• Alcohol - I love a tasty daiquiri on a hot day as much as the next person but these types of icy, sugary drinks will result in a thicker waistline. As the piece points out, a chilled white wine or even beer, is much lower in calories.
• Iced Coffee - An easy culprit to fall for because few associate coffee with gaining weight? While a low-fat iced latte won't ruin your figure, too many of those large, syrupy iced-mocha's certainly will.
• Ice Cream - For some, avoiding ice cream all summer is not only impossible, it seems totally crazy. Rather than give it up completely, substitute a simple non-fat vanilla scoop for a heaping bowl of rocky road. Or try a fruit sorbet or low-fat frozen yogurt from time to time.

Have you found any of your favorite summer foods have been affecting your weight? And can you recommend a healthy substitute?