Smart Bytes™
Feeling nutrition info overload? I will help you sort through to find what’s important to you. Read more. . .
Does Smoking Cessation Mean Weight Gain?
What one change has prevented more than 795,000 cancer deaths in the U.S. between 1975 and 2000?
The National Cancer Institute has declared April as Cancer Control Month, so it’s a good time to remind ourselves of the obvious: tobacco avoidance saves lives. That good news about cancer deaths prevented compared to expectations based on prior statistics is due to a decline in smoking. The researchers’ calculations that quantified the cumulative impact of changes in smoking produced a bittersweet note: if all tobacco smoking had ceased, 1.7 million American lung cancer deaths that did occur during this time would have been avoided.
One obstacle: some people don’t quit because they’re afraid of gaining weight. That’s a valid concern, since modest weight gain is not unusual when someone quits smoking. However, weight gain is not universal. Reaching and maintaining a healthy weight is a key step in reducing risk of cancer. First things first, however: the multiple health benefits of getting away from tobacco outweigh the small gain that may occur, and researchers are studying what people might do to avoid or limit weight gain related to smoking cessation.
Here’s what research has uncovered so far. Please pass this along to smokers you know. Continue reading
Chocolate and Health: Looking past the headlines
A person could have whiplash following nutrition in the news recently. In less than one week’s time, hundreds of news stories and Twitter posts have been careening back and forth between discussion of a study linking chocolate with a healthier weight and a television broadcast linking sweets with a wide array of health problems.
- Chocolate: Forbidden fruit? Weight loss wonder?
Coupled with reports from presentations at a major cancer research conference reminding us that weight control is one of the most important steps we can take to reduce our cancer risk, you may be wondering what on earth to make of all this.
Is chocolate a help or a hindrance to health? Does it really pose no barrier to a healthy weight? For me, the answers lie in the study details that you don’t get from looking only at the headlines. Continue reading
The Diabetes-Cancer Connection: What does it mean?
OK, call me a Pollyanna, but some good can come from realizing the increase in cancer risk linked to type 2 diabetes. By supplying evidence of an important pathway in cancer’s development, we have more clarity on steps that can have double impact, decreasing risk of diabetes and all its complications AND decreasing cancer risk at the same time.
Last week I was fortunate to speak on this topic as part of a webinar for the American Association of Diabetes Educators (AADE). My co-presenter was the distinguished Canadian researcher in this field, Michael Pollak, M.D. Don’t get me wrong – the diabetes-cancer link is worrisome, since the skyrocketing rates of type 2 diabetes in the U.S. suggest that in years to come, rates of diabetes-related cancers could soar as well. Today, though, let’s focus on the silver lining: if we act now to create a few basic changes in lifestyle and eating patterns, we might still turn this Titanic around in time. Continue reading
Nutrition Distraction Disorder: Fight it with Sloppy Success
Nutrition Distraction Disorder: If it were a real diagnosable condition, a lot of people would have it. Do you? Whether I’m at a speaking engagement or simply watching the headlines, I’ve noticed lately how many people are dipping a toe in the pool of a healthier lifestyle, and then jumping out and running to something else. They never stick with a change long enough to feel the benefits, and are frazzled from trying to keep up with the latest “sure-fire” nutrition strategy.
On a conference call recently, my valued colleague Bridget Swinney, MS, RD shared one of the take-home messages from a writers’ conference she recently attended: “Sloppy Success is better than Perfect Procrastination.” That may have been said regarding writing, but I think it’s relevant to much more. Let’s look at how some imperfect changes to your eating habits and lifestyle might be the answer to replace “Nutrition Distraction Disorder”. Continue reading
Secrets for Eating More Vegetables – And loving it!
Can eating more vegetables fit realistically in your life and actually be fun? It’s one of the most common goals among audiences to whom I speak, clients, and friends. Despite over 20 years of messages that we need to eat mor
e, average U.S. consumption remains essentially unchanged, with only a quarter of adults consuming even the minimum target of 5 servings/day, much less the larger amounts linked with optimal health.
To get some ideas on how we can boost vegetables and fruits AND enjoy it, I’m turning to Mary Lynn Farivari, RD, author of one of my favorite sources of inspiration as I cook for family and friends: Healthy Palate, Delicious and Simple Recipes to Enhance Meals with Fruits and Vegetables. Continue reading
Soup: How to make it a smart strategy for nutrition & weight control
For many people, soup brings an image of a cozy comfort food that just has to be good for you. Here, an update on what studies say about soup and some tips on how it can be both quick and healthy.
Soup can be a delicious way to enjoy vegetables & beans
Buffets: 3 steps to beat a weight control challenge
Scientists have discovered something about mice that may help people trying to avoid weight gain over the holiday season. Turns out that you can’t make a normal mouse overweight on regular lab chow – they automatically eat only the amount needed to maintain a healthy weight. So how do researchers studying obesity get usually normal-weight mice to become overweight? The Cafeteria Diet. When mice get access to many different high-calorie foods, they can’t seem to help but overeat.
Buffets can pose a challenge for healthy eating
This behavior is similar to what happens to many people faced with buffets. Fortunately, humans don’t need to resort to lab chow – we can realize the problem and learn to deal with it.
Extended Sitting: Why researchers see health impact & What you can do
Put aside thoughts of whether or not you meet recommendations for walking or other moderate activity, and answer two questions of newly recognized importance: How many minutes a day do you spend butt-in-chair or-car? And of that time, how much is extended sitting versus up-and-down?
Are too much sitting and too little activity independent health risks?
The potential relevance of these two questions to your risk of cancer and other chronic diseases was one of the major topics emerging from last week’s research conference held by the American Institute for Cancer Research (AICR).
Since I’ve been back from the conference, I’ve been plowing through the latest findings. There’s enough here that I will be making some simple changes in my life, and will be more intentional about encouraging them in my work with clients and in speaking.
Nuances in weight control: Are you flexible or rigid (in mindset)?
Our mindset plays a huge role in eating behavior and weight. If we don’t tune in to body hunger signals and make what we eat a conscious choice, today’s 24/7 availability of large portions of high-calorie food makes weight control very challenging for most of us. Yet when we impose on ourselves rigid rules about what and how much we can eat, benefits are often short-lived. Studies show that women, especially, tend to rebound, overeating on the “forbidden fruit” and gaining back more weight than they lost. For some, this can begin a pattern that leads down a disastrous road.
Everyday eating impulses, not special occasions, as biggest culprit
Two studies of weight gain and loss in middle-aged women provide examples of conclusions reached by a growing body of research on eating behavior and psychology. In both studies, unplanned overeating in response to various circumstances and the way in which people tried to control it were strongly linked to weight changes.