When I first saw Nature”s Pride, All Natural, 100% Whole Wheat Bread with Double Fiber in the grocery store, I had no idea that it was from the same people who addicted us to high fructose corn syrup and white flour with the infamous and iconic “Wonder Bread”. I am always suspicious when I see a high fiber product because I am not a fan of the bowl full of twigs that Kashi puts together and calls breakfast cereals. However, this is a great, hearty, multi-grain bread. Continue reading »

Ok. I am not a big fan of oatmeal. I AM a big fan of the health benefits of oatmeal. So I was quite  happy when I found out that Quaker makes a cold cereal called Quaker Oatmeal Squares. It comes in three flavors:  Brown Sugar, Golden Maple and Cinnamon (I prefer the brown sugar). It has a really great crunch and not too sweet taste, is very hearty, and I much prefer it to oatmeal.  A one cup serving with one-half cup of skim milk comes in at 250 calories, with 2.5 grams of fat (only .5  grams saturated), 5 grams of fiber, 6 grams of protein, and NO HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP (the sweetness comes from brown sugar and molasses). Add 1/2 cup of strawberries or blueberries, and you have one great, hearty, healthy breakfast, a quick and easy alternative to oatmeal.

The French paradox is the observation over the centuries that even though the French consume a diet high in saturated fats, are crazy smokers, and Parisians are not known for their physical activity outside of the bedroom, they have a much lower incidence of coronary artery disease than Americans. The most recent explanation for this phenomenon is their consumption of red wine (although I don’t think we should discount the relationship of their bedroom activities to longevity ). Recently Dr. Oz, Oprah’s health guru, endorsed the dietary supplement resveratrol, the ingredient in red wine that is believed to be the source of these health benefits.  High doses of resveratrol have been linked to longevity and cancer prevention in species other than humans. Continue reading »

I admit it. I am kind of a McDonald’s addict. And when McDonald’s introduced their Sausage Breakfast Burrito, I found it irresistable. But with almost half of its 300 calories from fat (16 grams of fat), it is not my idea of a healthy breakfast. With a little experimenting, I found that I could make a “Healthy Breakfast Burrito” with all of the taste and only 235 calories and 9 grams of fat.  I had one for breakfast this morning, and so should you. By the way, it only takes about 5 minutes to make. Continue reading »

I used to try to cheat breakfast. Fueled by plenty of caffeine I would try to make it to lunch. The theory was that if I was trying to lose weight, if I could just make it to lunch, I would have saved all the calories for future use. The reality was that my low blood sugar would cause a throbbing headache, which would lower my productivity and my grouchiness would threaten everyone who came into contact with me until lunchtime. Continue reading »

Two years ago my sedentary lifestyle and poor diet left me unable to effectively fight the everyday battles that life brings.  It had sapped my physical energy levels, drained my  intellectual energy levels and affected my personal relationships. I felt that if I had totally lost control of everything in my life, and didn’t know how to regain it.  Many of the self-help books and tips that I read told me that control over your life is an illusion anyway so you have to learn to accept this reality.  But for a control freak, that is not an acceptable answer. I know that I can’t control how the economy is affecting my life, and I can’t control the choices that other people make that affect me.  But as I thought about it, I came to realize that there are a few things in my life that I can control. I CAN control the choices I make each day of what to put into my mouth, and the choices I make about my daily activities, and the choices I make about what I am thinking. And these choices have a major impact on the quality of my life, in spite of the fact that the rest of the universe seems indifferent to my existence. So I chose to end my crying jag and begin something more productive: a HealthJag. Continue reading »