Is Chocolate A New Health Food

•What Colors Are On Your Plate
?   by Meri Raffetto RDCan the colors on your plate tell you what health benefits you are getting?As researchers are learning more and more about the foods we eat there is one hot topic that keeps coming up….phytochemicals. You may have heard the latest craze for lycopene found in tomato products boasting its heart health benefits. Phytochemicals are biologically active chemicals (not classified as vitamins or minerals) found in foods that our bodies may use as part of their disease-fighting...

•Eating For Two
   by Meri Raffetto RDYou provide your baby the best nutrition every day by breast feeding. Much of the nutrition your baby receives from breast milk comes from your body’s stored nutrients. So don’t forget – your nutrition is important too! Even while you are nursing, your baby is becoming familiar with the different flavors of food you eat. Follow these nutrition tips and set your baby up for good health that will last a lifetime!1.Avoid Low Calorie or Fad Weight Loss Diets. Limiting the...

•The Sneak Attack of Trans Fats
   by Meri Raffetto RDIf you are like most people, you are probably confused about trans fats. What are they? Which foods have them? What is the health risk?The truth is, trans fats are everywhere. They are lurking on the shelves in almost every aisle of our grocery stores. Just when you think that bag of microwave popcorn was a healthy choice for a snack... it might not be. Not because of the popcorn itself but because of what has been added to it.So what are they? Trans fats are the result...

•10 Tips for Dining Out
   by Meri Raffetto RDThere is no doubt about it; Americans are eating in restaurants more often than ever before. In 1970 Americans spent just 26% of their food dollars on restaurant meals. Today we spend 46% of food dollars on eating out. This is likely the result of a fast paced lifestyle and more convenience of restaurants. What have also grown are restaurant portion sizes. The average restaurant portion size is large enough to feed three adults! Furthermore, studies have found a direct...

•8 Ways to Rev up Your Metabolism
   by Meri Raffetto RDYes it’s true- and so unfair. As we get older weight gain begins to creep up on us. You hear people every day in the grocery store, around the water cooler, at parties complaining of this additional weight they can’t seem to lose. You used to eat anything and not gain an ounce but now it seems 2 chips will send your weight up another notch on the scale. So what is this weight gain mystery? One thing we know for sure is that our metabolism is slowing down as we get older....

•The No Diet Way to Lose Weight and Keep it off
   by Meri Raffetto RDYes, you read it right…no diets!The first step in this weight management program is to gather all of your old fad diets, quick weight loss remedies, and “magic cures”. Once you have them all together in a nice, neat pile- throw them into the trash! One thing we have learned in the last 20-30 years is diets don’t work and actually can make things worse. Fad diets may provide short term weight loss but they are generally too difficult to stick with for a lifetime. The...