Dear White Rice, It’s Over.

White rice, listen, it’s not you. It’s me. We’ve had some good times – the nights we shared Chinese take out together, those halcyon days when all I needed was a saucepan and a minute – but the fact is, we’ve grown apart.

You had to know this was coming – what with all the fresh leafy greens hanging around lately and the wild blueberries sharing space with the ice cream bars in the freezer…the whole grains I’ve been leaving around.

The fact is, I need a little space – on my plate, that is, for something not quite so colorless. We can still be friends.

Please, don’t press me for the details.

Ok, you asked for it. Here’s the truth: There’s been a study published in the June 14 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine in which a team of scientists from Harvard University showed that regular consumption of brown rice – 5 servings a week – reduces the risk of diabetes by 36 percent.

The study also shows that people who eat white rice five times a week had 17 percent higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes compared to those who eat only once a month.

Now you know.

Your New Brown Rice Doctrine

Welcome to your new, more colorful life where white foods don’t get the time of day. It’s a good idea for everyone, but if you have or are in danger of developing type 2 diabetes, dumping the white could be one of the best things you can do to maintain a healthy weight, a healthy heart, and healthy glucose levels.

Here are some Brown Rice Rules to help you get out there on your own:

#1 – Start loving it.  Brown rice is nutty, it’s chewy, it’s delicious. It’s the perfect foil for fish, beans, veggies, olives, raisins. You name it, brown rice adds a robustness, taste and style.

#2 – Start a merger. If you have an unflagging love for white rice, mix it with brown. Half the brown rice means half the benefits, and if you’re a true white rice fanatic, cold turkey isn’t for everyone.

#3 – Take it slow. Perfect brown rice requires more water and more patience than white. But slow is the latest trend in food, and quickening the pace could lead to cultural frustration, so do your psyche a favor.

#4 – Don’t sauce it, toss it. Remember that all rice starts out as brown. It only becomes white through the refining process that strips it of the minerals in the hull. Eating food as close to its original form is usually a good rule of thumb, so when you see white rice, think weddings, not dinner.

#5 – Don’t be a slave to instant. Go instant if you must. But instant has been precooked and dried and has lost nutrients and fiber, and its higher on the glycemic index.
According to Dr. Sears, “Compared with regularly cooked rice, the instant variety has a bit less of the following nutrients (though the differences may be insignificant): selenium, zinc, B-6, folic acid, and much of the amino acids. Instant rice also loses a bit of its texture.” Still, if it’s brown, it’s a start.

#6 – Look to the East. Asia’s rice consumption is 135,000 thousand metric tons, while the U.S. consumes about 3,882. While rice is part of every meal across many parts of the world, our carb choices tend toward the potato. Taking a page from Eastern diets can provide a little inspiration. While no food is evil, switching out your white carbs for brown rice (especially if those carbs are shaped like shoestrings or tend to sport a crinkle) could reap huge benefits for your nutritional profile. 

The End of the Affair

It’s time to end the love affair with white rice. Start by cooking up a stir fry, creating a classic pairing with black beans, and discovering basmatis, gratins and green rice. Here’s a start: Try Martha Stewart’s Brown Rice & Black Beans, Allrecipe’s Vegetable Fried Rice, or the New York Times’ Brown Basmati Rice Salad With Roasted Poblanos and Cumin Vinaigrette, Fried Basmati Brown Rice With Chicken and Vegetables, and Green Rice (you can use brown for this recipe too).

Need tips on cooking brown rice? There’s plenty of help out there. The Healthy Eating Site has tips for cooking brown rice right, as does Suite 101 and The Buzzle.

Food For Your Whole Life Health Symposium Spreads Nutritional Love in NYC

Elizabeth Jarrard has blogged comprehensively at her blog Don’t (White) Sugar Coat It about her experience in New York City at the Food For Your Whole Life Symposium. She’s a healthy eating enthusiast who blogs about fruits and veggies, vegan eating, and all things that enhance your health and your life.

The Symposium was held this past weekend and was open to industry professionals, media, and the public, and the focus was on the latest information and research surrounding nutritional themes such as plant-based nutrition, and making healthy food more accessible. Featured presentations included those from the popular scrub-clad health guru Dr. Mehmet Oz, renowned nutrition authority Dr. David Katz, and YOU: On a Diet co-author Dr. Michael Roizen. Topics ranged from belly fat, to childhood nutrition and genetics.

You can check out Jarrard’s updates, or visit the Walnut Council website – they’ll be posting the conference streams and summaries in full sometime this week. You can also find recaps on A Fete for Food, Green Grapes Blog, Healthy Blog Snack, and Eat Well With Janel. Thanks Elizabeth & all!

Why You Should Know About Metabolic Syndrome

According to studies from the Journal of the American Medical Association, metabolic syndrome affects up to 25% of the American population.

25%.

This startling statistic means that one in five people are experiencing significant health risks due to this condition. What is this insidious disease called metabolic syndrome, and why is it deserved of so much attention?

What is Metabolic Syndrome?

Once known in the medical community as “syndrome X” or “insulin resistance syndrome”, metabolic syndrome has the dubious distinction of becoming a recognized diagnosis in its own right. The syndrome poses such a significant health risk because it is really a cluster of conditions that work together to seriously degrade health and invite mortality. These conditions, occurring together, increase your risk of heat disease, stroke and diabetes and can lead to a diagnosis of metabolic syndrome:

  • Increased blood pressure: A blood pressure reading of higher than 120 / 80.
  • Elevated insulin levels: Insulin helps to regulate the amount of sugar in your body, and insulin resistance can elevate risk of disease.
  • Excess body fat around the waist: Obesity in general puts you at risk for disease, but having an “apple shape” – more fat around the middle – means elevated risk.
  • Abnormal cholesterol levels: that is, low HDL levels (your good cholesterol) and high LDLs (your bad).

Don’t these conditions alone have adverse health effects? You bet. High blood pressure increases your risk of serious disease, as does elevated insulin levels and high cholesterol. But the combination of these diseases can make your risk of disease skyrocket, leading to the very serious diagnosis of metabolic syndrome.

If you already know you have at least one of the conditions described above, it may be that you have others without being aware of it. Visiting a doctor to see if you should be checked for the others is a good idea. The diagnosis of metabolic syndrome isn’t great news, but knowing you have the disease can get your doctor on the case, put your level of risk in perspective, and make your need to make aggressive changes in your lifestyle a priority.

What’s the Connection to Metabolism?

You’ve heard people who are thin and seem to eat a lot described as having a “naturally high metabolism”. Most of us know metabolism has to do with our rate of burning calories, but our understanding stops there. What is “metabolism” really?

It’s true that our metabolism is affected by what we eat and our physical activity. But metabolism is the term used to refer to several processes that concern converting food and other substances into energy and other metabolic byproducts. It’s an important function because how our body uses food to maintain itself, repair damage, heal from injury, and aid in digestion and absorption of nutrients depends on the process of metabolism.

One of these metabolic processes includes how our body responds to insulin. Insulin controls the amount of sugar in our bloodstream. If we are insulin resistant, glucose cannot enter our cells as easily. Our body then responds by churning out more insulin and increasing the insulin level in our blood, which can lead to diabetes. It also interferes with how our kidneys work, leading to higher blood pressure.

Greater weight, especially around the middle, means a higher risk of insulin resistance, because fat interferes with the body’s ability to use insulin. High blood pressure and high cholesterol are the hallmark risk factors for many diseases and conditions, including type 2 diabetes. These conditions together create a perfect storm of damage when it comes to our metabolic processes.

Combating Metabolic Syndrome

If you are one of the “one of five” diagnosed with metabolic syndrome, aggressive lifestyle changes will likely be the Rx. While medication is often necessary for those with this diagnosis, changes in diet and exercise can delay or even prevent the development of serious health problems related to metabolic syndrome. If you are diagnosed with metabolic syndrome or you are at risk for this diagnosis because you have one of its component conditions, a three-prong attack is the path to prevention.

1-Medication

Many individuals with metabolic syndrome are treated for elevated blood pressure and insulin resistance with medication. Medication can be the first order of business for patients with hazardous levels; other patients may find that their doctor turns to medication if lifestyle changes are not having the desired effect. Also, doctors might recommend a daily aspirin to reduce your risk of heart attack and stroke.

2-Diet

Diet is truly at the heart of mitigating the symptoms of this disease. Many professionals recommend the Mediterranean diet for those at risk. This diet is rich in vegetables, whole grains and fish, and is rich in good fats like olive oil. It has become a popular dietary recommendation because unlike other diets, it can be enjoyable, isn’t overly restrictive, and as a result, it can be sustained over the long term – the key to any lifestyle change. And, according to industry sources, recent studies have shown that when compared to a low fat diet, people on the Mediterranean diet have a “greater decrease in body weight, and also had greater improvements in blood pressure, cholesterol levels, and other markers of heart disease — all of which are important in evaluating and treating metabolic syndrome.”

3-Exercise

Exercise completes the prevention triumvirate when it comes to metabolic syndrome. Studies indicate that simply decreasing fat (through liposuction, for instance, or divine intervention) won’t have the beneficial effects of actually moving to lose the weight. In fact, even those who lose no weight through exercise still benefit from it when it comes to this disease. There is a beneficial effect of exercise on blood pressure, cholesterol levels, and insulin sensitivity – the perfect combination of benefits for metabolic syndrome.

Antioxidants & Metabolic Syndrome

Recent discoveries attribute potential health benefits to antioxidants such as anthocyanin, anti-inflammatories and other natural compounds found in the deep blue pigment of fruits like our own wild blueberries. Working with wild blueberry fruit compounds known as anthocyanins, Mary Ann Lila, Ph.D., from North Carolina State University, Plants for Human Health Institute led a team of researchers that demonstrated that blueberry phytochemicals helped alleviate hyperglycemia in rodent models, a condition associated with diabetes and metabolic syndrome. You can read the research in the May 2009 issue of Phytomedicine.

Ongoing studies like Dr. Lila’s that are focused on metabolic syndrome can open the door to even better ways to hone in on prevention, and with luck, kick that 25% statistic into the single digits where it belongs.

You can learn more about metabolic syndrome at the American Heart Association. You’ll also find more about the risk factors and complications at the Mayo Clinic.

Food Synergy: Nature’s Meal Plan

According to the results of a study from the Archives of Internal Medicine, eating just 2.4 ounces of nuts of any kind was associated with declines of 7.4 percent in bad cholesterol and about 5.1 percent in total cholesterol. Nuts, according to Dr. Joan Sabaté, a professor of nutrition at the School of Public Health at Loma Linda University in California, are major players in the world of HDLs and LDLs. “Nuts are the richest source of protein in the plant kingdom, and they also contain fiber and phytosterols, which compete with cholesterol to be absorbed,” she said in an article about the study in the New York Times. “All these nutrients have been demonstrated to lower cholesterol.”

If you’re in a daily battle with your bad cholesterol, this is good news that could have you thinking like a squirrel. But this latest in nuts news is working a couple of different angles of health and nutrition. What’s interesting about Dr. Sabaté’s assessment is her use of the phrase “all these nutrients”. Nature’s way of “packaging” nutrients has prompted great interest in food combinations and something widely referred to as food synergy. Some combinations of food can result in an even bigger benefit simply because of their synergy. Nuts seem to have that – both as a food and as a pairing.

Happy Together

Food synergy occurs when components within the same food, or components between different foods, work together in a way that is more powerful than their effects would be separately. Food combinations for heightened nutritional value are piquing the interest of researchers and nutritionists because of their impact on disease prevention, heart disease, cancer, chronic diseases, and even weight loss. Elaine Magee, author of Food Synergy and WebMD contributor, has posited that food synergy can be harnessed to fight major diseases such as heart disease, stroke, cancer and diabetes.

Other synergistic enthusiasts, of course, combine purely for taste. But taste can unwittingly be a factor in health. Food combos based on what we might consider tradition may actually stem from the nutritional effects they provide. That is, our instincts may be leading us toward a yen for salt with chocolate. For example, the vinegar in sushi rice can reduce the glycemic index by up to 35%, limiting the rice’s effect upon blood sugar. Similarly, the oil in salad might make it possible for the body to absorb all the dish’s antioxidants. Our need to be healthy may be urging our palate to gravitate toward these extraordinary food combinations.

Food “Packages” & Powerful Pairs

Thanks to research into food synergy over the last five years, more and more evidence suggests that the components in the foods we consume interact with each other to give our bodies extra disease protection and a higher level of health. Recent studies focused on risks of chronic diseases and whole grains have suggested that chronic disease may be reduced if whole-grain foods are consumed in a diet otherwise high in plant foods. Another powerful pair? Cooked tomatoes with olive oil. Absorption of two key carotenoids in the skin of the tomato is much greater when the tomatoes are cooked and when eaten with “smart” fat, making olive oil their perfect pairing.

While food combinations can be powerful, components also work together within a single food, confirming that the power is truly nature-created. As a result, these natural mysteries of synergy make it difficult to replicate in supplements that contain only the component. (We’ve written previously about this supplement challenge.) For example, cruciferous vegetables, according to Magee, a category of vegetables that includes cabbage and broccoli, contain two phytochemicals that were more active when combined, according to research that tested the compounds in rats. These vegetables, with their powerful combination of components, protected the rats more effectively from liver cancer. Also, almonds, cashews, and walnuts, according to the Archives of Internal Medicine nuts study discussed above, contain two forms of vitamin E and tend to work best together: alpha- and gamma-tocopherol.

Wild Blueberries: 1 + 1 = 3

Such good news about nuts along the amazing things we know about wild blueberries might make you think these two nutritionally potent foods would be better together. You’re right. Superfood expert Dr. Steven Pratt has touted the immense synergy between blueberries and walnuts for brain health. Dr. Pratt says, “There is synergy between blueberries and almost every other food. If you have blueberries plus walnuts for brain health, that’s better than just walnuts by itself. It’s not 1 plus 1 is 2, its 1 plus 1 is 3.” That’s the mystery of synergy at work.

Great Combinations for Taste & Health

Here is a collection of some fantastic combinations suggested by a selection of synergy experts that have the potential to enhance health and prevent disease – and liven up a plate.

* Tomatoes & Avocados
* Tomatoes & Broccoli
* Oatmeal & Orange Juice
* Broccoli & Tomatoes
* Wild Blueberries &  Grapes
* Wild Blueberries & Walnuts
* Wild Blueberries & Fish
* Soy & Salmon
* Peanuts & Whole Wheat
* Apples & Chocolate
* Lemon & Kale
* Almonds & Yogurt
* Any Fruit with its Peel (especially darkly colored fruit)
* Green Tea & Lemon
* Garlic & Fish

So go ahead – give synergy a try! Whether you are seeking disease prevention or optimum nutrition, or you’re just bored with the regular old meat and potatoes, seek out powerfully nutritious food “packages” and find out what combinations are best for your health goals and your taste buds. While you’re at it, go ahead and thank Mother Nature for giving us a taste for what’s healthy!

Major Health Symposium to Demystify Healthy Choices

The general public is invited to join health professionals, media, and some of the “stars” of health –  including keynote health doc Dr. Mehmet Oz – to explore how “food and lifestyle choices affect overall health and well being during each phase of life” at the Food for Your Whole Life Health Symposium.  The Symposium will be held on June 6-7 at the Grand Hyatt NYC, and is open to health professions, the media, and the general public.

This gathering of great minds in health and nutrition comes at time when confusion about portion control, food choices and labeling is high among consumers. Part of the Symposium’s goal is to begin to whittle away at these knowledge gaps by providing education to the public and providing guidance for health professionals upon which the public depends.

The Food for Your Whole Life Health Symposium will feature internationally-recognized researchers, clinicians, educators and health experts, with the goal of providing the most current information about nutrition and healthy living by presenting the latest research on age-based nutrition for optimal health. You can view the list of presenters confirmed to date.

An Education in Health – in NYC! 

While part of the symposium is specifically for health professionals, the public forum to be held on Sunday, June 6 is open to all who want to participate. Sunday’s star-studded line up includes presentations by Dr. Oz, Dr. Michael Roizen and Dr. David Katz, as well as exhibits, presentations, cooking demonstrations and exercise sessions. It’s a perfect opportunity to begin to lay your own foundation for good health, and procure clear, relevant advice for living healthy and caring for a healthy family, too.

Read more or register for this Food for Your Whole Life event.

What “Fast” Has Done to Us (and How to Fix it)

A recent Alternet article featured some intriguing new research that suggests that fast food makes individuals impatient and strengthens their desires to complete tasks as quickly.

According to the study, exposure to fast food – thinking about it, eating it, ordering it, or simply seeing a fast food logo – leads to a desire to take the quickest path toward fulfillment of desires. Saving for retirement? Don’t drive by the golden arches. If you do, you’ll be more likely to splurge on short-term pleasures and blow your nest egg on a fast car or a pair of strappy Louboutins.

But what role does fast food play as a cause of these new cultural mores? Is it to blame, or is it just the run off of a fast track world?  “What we can infer from our studies,” the researchers say, “is that exposure to fast food and related symbols reinforces an emphasis on impatience and instant gratification, and that fast food can have a far broader impact on individuals’ behaviors and choices than previously thought.”

Devoted to & Consumed by Fast 

It’s the zeitgeist of the age: college grads have been stigmatized as wanting to make the big bucks rather than climb the career ladder (did someone say Wall Street?); our kids are blamed for having too much too fast when it comes to consumer goods and brand names; we text and email and wonder why no one responds within minutes (Are they terribly sick? In some sort of dire trouble?); and technology is based on instant gratification: why wait for the new iPad when you can get it the day it hits shelves?

Alternet’s research implies that through exposure to fast, we stoke our fiery desire to live fast. It makes sense that fast food – food that is available everywhere to eat at any time – is a cog in this wheel of impatience. Imagine – we can be biting a burger within seconds of asking for it at a fast food counter or drive-thru! What might seem like speed-of-light magic to other cultures and other ages is just a part of American life. Regardless of where the cause ends and the effect begins, it makes intuitive sense that our want-it-now culture is a monster that feeds on itself simply because we live in it.

Must We Accept the Fast Monster?

Slow foodies say no way. Here are some gateways into immersing in slow and beginning to counteract the tidal wave of fast:

First stop is Slow Food. Slow Food says it is attempting to renew America’s food traditions and regards Slow Food as an idea, a way of living and a way of eating. It also deems itself a global, grassroots movement. You can find out more close to home by joining a local Slow Food chapter.

Next up is Slow Food International. This organization paves the way for those looking for other ways counteract fast food and fast life, the disappearance of local food traditions and people’s dwindling interest in the food they eat, where it comes from, how it tastes and how our food choices affect the rest of the world.

Now you’re off and running. Remember too, slow food doesn’t have to mean waiting around for your food – the “slow” in slow food often refers to the way it is produced, not prepared, Alice Waters has said. See what this fresh, local food evangelist is up to now.

A Belly Busting Berry? Bonus Bennies from Blues

“It’s About Your Belly…”

It’s unlikely someone you know will take you aside and ask, “What’s up with your belly?” But even if your midsection is not the talk of the office, it doesn’t matter—you know when things are going downhill tummy-wise. If you’ve recently acquired a gut, muffin top, spare tire, or some basic bloat, you know it’s true: the stomach can take the brunt of weight gain.

Heartening news for your emergent abdomen is this recently published research concerning the belly busting benefits of blueberries. Researchers say that antioxidant-rich blueberries may change how the body stores and processes glucose or sugar for energy, and may result in a reduction of fat where it bothers us most.

Said University of Michigan researcher Dr. Steven Bolling in the release, “The benefits of eating fruits and vegetables have been well researched, but our findings in regard to blueberries show the naturally occurring chemicals they contain, such as anthocyanins, show promise in mitigating these health conditions.”

The desire to ban belly fat may be based in aesthetics, but the research is important not just because it might provide the key to a better profile. Abdominal fat is related to heart disease and diabetes, and side effects of banishing belly fat can include lowered cholesterol as well.

Could You Have Bad Belly Karma?

The news about belly fat and blueberries only confirms that antioxidant rich fruits have potential that is yet to be unleashed. But what if, like many people, you’ve already been munching blues at breakfast or with other meals? Talk about unfair: nothing’s changed, you exercise, you eat well, and suddenly you notice size is beginning to matter. That is, your belly is gaining girth and you’re concerned—or at least confused. What is it? Bad karma? Sleep eating? It may be time for some deductive reasoning.

Medicinenet’s series of compelling slideshows  includes a primer on why you may be gaining weight if everything else appears to be the same old-same old.  According to the slideshow, some of the culprits may be lack of sleep or increased stress. Adding insult to injury, these lifestyle shifts can wreak havoc on weight, due to a delicate balance of hormones and appetite that can be knocked asunder in low-sleep, high-stress times.

Other items on the weight gain checklist include taking new meds, menopause, or an undiagnosed disease that may have slipped under the radar and caused you to pack on the pounds. View the slideshow about weight gain and its fixes.

Sell Your Superfoods! Think Like an Ad Man (or Woman) in Your Kitchen

This post from Summer Tomato, “Sell Your Family On Healthy Eating Using Descriptive Copy”, poses a perfectly fun idea for motivating yourself and your family to eat well, inspired by a study concerning the psychology of eating that we discussed here a few weeks ago.  It seems putting a little Madison Avenue in our kitchen creations means taking a page from Restaurant Row. Consider the wait staff at your favorite restaurant describing their specials. Do the terms sautéed, drizzled or chilled sound familiar? Colorful descriptions and mouth-watering modifiers can accomplish the chef’s goal of tapping into our visceral love of food even before we order.

Their efforts to sell the sizzle and not (necessarily) the steak really can help our healthy eating habits, suggests Summer Tomato. The idea is to start evoking ingredients’ attributes and seasonal freshness: instead of trying to push “salad” for dinner,  start plugging “ginger scented little gem lettuces with grapefruit, hazelnuts and goat cheese.”  Now that sounds delicious! Then,  sneak in some adjectives as well: kale becomes Tuscan kale, carrots become sweet, and tomatoes become heirloom in an instant.

We also suggest taking this new Madison Avenue flair for food a step further. Got an idea for dinner in the AM before taking off to work? Use your copywriting skills to announce it on a decorative kitchen whiteboard or chalk/slate board. Not only can you get yourself and your family members excited about the Specialty du Jour, but you can stick to your plan of eating healthy – no stopping for take-out when the menu is there in black and white. And, studies indicate that if our expectations are that something will taste good, it will.

You can even use pictures to evoke a thousand words. If you found a recipe online or in a magazine, post the photo on your “menu” board (provided your version won’t pale in comparison). Let’s face it, Denny’s knows what they’re doing with their colorful photos of melting pads of butter sliding off stacks of pancakes. Hey, we can play that game, too. Move over, Moon Over My Hammy – say hello to Farm-fresh Sweet Corn and Slow-Roasted Organic Chipotle Chicken courtesy of Chez You!

Wax Poetic with Quinoa Salad

This Quinoa Salad with Wild Blueberries recipe from www.wildblueberries.com will help get you started dusting off those descriptors. Who can resist “creamy Havarti gently tossed with fresh garden zucchini”?

(Sold on the added adjective of “wild” when talking about blueberries? The moniker isn’t just sizzle: wild differentiates lowbush wild blueberries from their highbush cultivated counterparts. Wilds are smaller, have more of the powerful antioxidant anthocyanin, and demonstrate greater antioxidant capacity per serving than cultivated blueberries. They are also have a more intense, tangy-sweet flavor which makes them a excellent recipe ingredient.)

Got the Nutrition Blahs? Celebrate the Smoothie!

Even Martha Stewart claims to eat a spinach smoothie every morning to keep her looking and feeling fabulous. It seems everyone has their own personal secret recipe for health and longevity in their blender. Why does the smoothie have such a hold on us when it comes to nutrition?

There are a multitude of answers to why the smoothie is held in such deliciously high esteem. First, smoothies are well known for the punch of antioxidants, protein and vitamins that they can contain all in one little glass. Smoothies mask a multitude of not-so-pleasant munching experiences (such as spinach or tofu in the morning). They slurp down easy, especially when we’re time challenged. And while they are beloved in the summer for their capacity to be chilled or even frozen, they are truly a seasonless indulgence that many – nutritionists and foodies alike – enjoy every single day.

What’s more, smoothies can be made delicious with a little bit of fruit, and they typically get their fantastic tastes – from mellow to tropical – from servings of  healthful fruits and vegetables. That means daily serving requirements can be easily met. They also thrive on calcium-busting additives such as yogurt or skim milk, and even those who go dairy free have no trouble using dairy alternatives in their smoothies.

But perhaps the smoothie’s best advantage is that it is never boring. A little this and a little that, and presto, the perfect mouthwatering combination. With so many options, one can have a different smoothie every day of the year, in every color of the rainbow! (And besides, who doesn’t love drinking something blue?)

So, fire up a blender and celebrate the Smoothie! Here’s a couple of places to start:

Martha Stewart has a rainbow of smoothie recipes from carrot-mango to banana yogurt.

Care to experiment with Cucumber Apple Smoothie? It’s out there for you.

Wild Blueberries make smoothies that bust at the seams with antioxidant benefits. Try a basic but elegant Wild Blueberry Smoothie, or mix up a Blueberry-Banana Smoothie from James Joseph’s book The Color Code.

Does Your Shampoo Make You Taller? 15 Silver Bullets To Steer Clear Of

Any insomniac who has turned on late night TV to be confronted with a barrage of infomercials can tell you there’s a quick fix for everything. Saggy abs? Try this. Cluttered closet? We’ve got the fix. Suffering the indignity of shelling a hard boiled egg? Here’s the solution.

Some claims are easy to see through—even if they seem convincing, experience tells us they aren’t the silver bullet. That’s because there is no silver bullet. We know our shampoo won’t make us taller and better looking, even if everything about it seems to imply that it will.

But sometimes we forget—we get lazy, we get vulnerable, we let our guard down—especially when we feel especially hopeful about a certain area of our life, like our weight and our health. Two sides of ourselves battle it out: we want to eat and enjoy food, but we also want to watch our weight. We want to be healthy in the long term, but in the short term we don’t want to spend hours on a treadmill. We love the nirvana of sugar-salt-fat combinations but know better than to indulge in them. That gap between what we know and what we long for is where the silver bullet claims wedge themselves.

Keep a mental note of dubious verbiage and keep it on your radar. Here are 15 examples to start you out:

  • scientific breakthrough
  • medical miracle
  • best
  • fast
  • secret
  • fortified
  • enriched
  • natural
  • for a limited time only
  • used by (famous celeb)
  • no trans fat
  • zero sugar (but high in fat)
  • zero fat (but high in sugar)
  • low calorie (for serving size & poor quality)
  • 97% fat free (3% fat by weight)

Today, there is compelling health research that helps us understand how food affects how our bodies work. Understanding that research can help us navigate a world tricked out with unhealthy land mines; it is essential to being an informed consumer. We want information, not claims.

We learned years ago from Eric Schlosser that for some foods to be labeled as “natural” they actually had to endure additional processing. While false claims on nutritional labels are under scrutiny, we still seem to be dodging silver bullets and wading through too-good-to-be-trues. Keeping our guard up means not falling victim to empty marketing promises and over-hyped claims that guarantee the latest and greatest—even when we know better.