Artificial Food Dyes- what’s the verdict?

How about all that chatter this week regarding artificial food dyes?  Not only was this in the news, blog posts, all over my facebook but it was also a big story on Good Morning America.  The FDA’s advisory panel was to finally attend a “colorthon” for two days this week to discuss a hypothesized correlation between food dyes and hyperactivity.
Some studies have linked food dyes to hyperactivity

The Vicious Cycle of eating too little

Everybody has an individual resting metabolic rate (RMR). This is the minimum amount of calories it takes for your body to function, including breathing, absorption and digestion.  An activity factor is added to your RMR that configures how many additional calories are needed to function on a daily basis.  The more activity you engage in, the more calories your body needs to function.  Once you

Blood pressure: What’s salt got to do with it?

High blood pressure, otherwise known as hypertension, can be a silent, chronic disease.  Blood pressure readings explain the pressure that is built upon the wall of your arteries.  The higher the reading, the more pressure you have against the wall of your arteries and the harder it is for your arteries to pump blood which puts stress on your organs.  Hypertension is a risk factor for stroke,

When your child is ‘failing to thrive’

There’s so much information about child obesity out in the press and media, but what if you are dealing with the opposite end?  It can be very scary as a parent to watch your little one fail to gain weight.  As you travel back and forth to the doctors waiting for the dots to appear on the growth chart a million things can go through your head.  You sit and wait and then finally get the ‘diagnosis

Hooray for the FDA

I was so pleased to just read the consumer update Beware of Fraudulent Weight-Loss ‘Dietary Supplements’ posted by the FDA two days ago.  Since I’ve become a dietitian, the magic bullet supplement or diet pill industry has been a thorn in my side.  I’ve had many clients and patients over the years describe their habitual visits to GNC, the Vitamin Shoppe, or lately the internet purchasing

Pre Diabetes

In the health field arena we hear this term quite a bit as the obesity epidemic continues to soar and I was shocked to find out that the American Diabetes Association estimates that as many as fifty seven million Americans suffer from this disease, most undiagnosed.
What in the world is pre Diabetes you say?  Well it is when your blood glucose is higher than normal but not high enough to be

The Value of NuVal ™

I learned about NuVal on Facebook.  Laugh as you may but Facebook has really become a great community for Kindred Nutrition.  I find the greatest resources here and I am always delighted to share with colleagues, clients, and friends. 
For those of you who may have not heard of NuVal yet, it is a nutritional scoring system on individual foods.  The system was developed by nutrition and medical

Brinner

Isn’t serving breakfast for dinner magnificent?  Last night was one of those nights where I forgot to take ingredients out of the freezer.  I was travelling all day from client to client and my kids had long days at school followed by shots at the doctors.  They were a little grouchy to say the least and I was losing my mind.  As my hunger pains kept getting louder and louder, the last thing I

Quick ideas for 500 calorie dinner meals

Ideas for 500 Calorie Dinner Meals
Every evening at dinner time I feel hungry, rushed, and discombobulated.  Frankly, I’m a complete mess.  The day is unwinding, my children are tired and starving, and I keep going through the list in my head that I didn’t get completely finished.  Most of my clients voice that they feel the same way with the addition of the considerations of likes and dislikes

Say Heck No to HCG

It is my opinion that the topic of nutrition is like politics.  Everyone thinks they know a lot about it, and for the most part people do know the basics, but when it comes down to the need to make individual change, there’s a lot of talk and little visible action.  This is why for the most part when strangers, friends, and even family speak of nutrition; I keep my mouth shut unless it’s worth