Nutrition and healthy eating

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• November 13, 2012 2:28 p.m.

  Everything in moderation; including things like white bread, white rice, and butter.

  - John

• November 11, 2012 2:11 a.m.

  How about beef, chicken and all dairy. The healthcare industry's refusal to call out the meat and dairy industries is criminal, and you know it. They create your customers, who with their gold plated insurance plans can afford all your expensive and ineffective cancer and heart treatments. The healthcare industry is really the "disease management" industry. If you were concerned about people' health, you would tell the truth. The truth would however decrease demand for what you sell.

  - Gene Simmonz

• November 7, 2012 9:53 a.m.

  Avoid any food you can order by shouting into a menu at a drive-thru restaurant.

  - Fred

• November 6, 2012 8:28 p.m.

  I have to avoid fiber-rich foods like whole grain beard. it will bulk up my bowl movements and block my colon. I have to drink alot of water and take senna plus pills.

  - Ely

• August 20, 2012 4:48 p.m.

  Most peanut butters out there are awful! Non-organic PB has high fructose corn syrup, and organic PB is made with palm oil. Always check the ingredients label. I either make my own or go for Smuckers natural PB. The only things that should be in PB are peanuts and a little bit of salt!

  - Jenny

• August 20, 2012 3:42 p.m.

  Flax, Almond (nut based), Coconut are the best bread alternatives if you must have bread.. quick and simple to make at home..whole wheat or whole grain will give you diabetes..I don't understand how "cooking a little extra meat instead" is an alternative to processed meat and they say nothing about the nitrites in meat like hotdogs you should be more concerned with that than high fat or sodium..we need fat for nutrition absorbtion and Himalayan salt is amazing for you salt is not the enemy processing and added chemicals is..go to your farmers market and pick up your meat if you want meat..Sprulina is an incredible source of protein a couple bites of Sprulina has something like 3x the protein than the same amount of bites of steak..no need for the soy alternative that increases estrogen..causing cancer or weight gain..I'm glad to hear people calling out all the bullshhh that they keep throwing at us..I think we got this in the bag..one of my favorite health sites is Mike Adams the health ranger on naturalness.com plentiful in health reports to expand your health knowledge horizons

  - HannaH

• July 23, 2012 7:50 p.m.

  I don't have to worry about any food to avoid, because all I eat is vegetables and fruit, with very litle nuts. feels good.

  - Maria

• November 3, 2011 8:24 a.m.

  More "saturated fat is bad for you" nonsense. Please! Read some recent scientific journals!!! Eating fat does NOT make you fat. Starches and sugars make you fat because they activate insulin. Even protein activates insulin to a slight degree. However, fat does not activate insulin. Dietary fat and body fat are two entirely different things. Carbohydrates store as body fat far faster and more readily than either protein or fat. Put someone on a low-carb./high-fat diet and they lose weight like there's no tomorrow. Their hair and skin clear up, their cholesterol levels drop, their triglycerides drop and their blood pressure drops. Fat is NOT the demon the mainsteam media has been telling us it is. What's more, it's important to remember that many of the benefits of so-called low-fat diets actually come not from the lack of fat, but rather the lack of carbs in those diets! Think about it, what do low-fat diets tell you to cut out? Fast food, junk food, snacks, sweets, etc. These are all high-carb foods! The fat is purely incidental. Read the blog of Michael Eades (http://www.proteinpower.com/drmike/low-carb-library/why-we-get-fat/) or Michael Morning (http://www.michaelmorning.com) if you want some real science in your nutritional advice.

  - Michael

• November 3, 2011 8:13 a.m.

  Not a bad list, however, you really need to step into the 21st century and realize that fat is not bad for you. Man-made trans fat is its own animal and should be absolutely avoided. But saturated fat is NOT the demon the mainstream media and the government have made it out to be, nor is cholesterol. A virtual mountain of scientific evidence continues to pour in that saturated fat does NOT cause heart disease, nor does cholesterol. The real cause of heart disease is inflammation caused by sugar, starch and rancid vegetable oils (particularly polyunsaturates like canola). Saturated fat is used by virtually every cell in the body. While it is sometimes linked with an increase in LDL ("bad cholesterol"), it actually only causes a modest rise in Pattern A LDL, which is benign. Trans fat, on the other hand, causes a rise in Pattern B LDL (VLDL), which IS related to heart disease. And let's not forget that trans fat is also linked to 9 different forms of cancer, depression of the immune system, abdominal fat storage, metabolic disorder, etc. I've been a fitness trainer and nutritional consultant for the past 20 years, and I can say with absolute certainty that high-fat diets rich in foods like butter, eggs, avocado, olive oil and coconut oil lowers blood pressure, lowers cholesterol, lowers triglycerides and boosts HDL and general health and well being. It also leads to weight loss! So please, get with the 21st century and stop with the "saturated fat is bad for y

  - Michael

• November 2, 2011 5:29 p.m.

  No, I do not believe I will be supporting this low-/no-fat dairy craze. Not only is it overly processed, but we are losing many nutrients in our fear of fatty foods. I agree with purchasing plain yogurt and adding your own fruit, seeing as it's the only way I can avoid the low-fat nonsense. Learn portion control and you'll be fine.

  - Jess

• September 5, 2011 1:54 a.m.

  Congrats!!! You put together the most obvious list of unhealthy foods. Try going deeper next crucify chips (the evil concoction). All things in moderation, and if you want to lose weight join a gym and stop eating foods that are blatantly bad for you.

  - Mike

• August 18, 2011 6:09 a.m.

  http://www.thechinastudy.com/ this link says it all ... the link between nutrition and diseases of affluence eg. diabetes, obesity and cancer supported by sound scientific research, a MUST read for people interested in healthy nutrition

  - Barbara

• August 6, 2010 11:42 a.m.

  As a juvenile onset for 46 yrs now -- proof, for me, is in the positive. I mistakenly purchased white instead of brown rice a few weeks ago. Read labels for both --white was 1g less total carb so gambled on that. Ate same portion, routine brown rice blood glucose levels under 200 while white rice was 375! Yikes! Bought more brown rice next day & have remained rather routinely stabile since. There's no one cut & dried diet or way of life that works for all individuals. With physician/dietician assistance it's up to each us to continually figure out what works and/or doesn't because lifestyle, life stresses and our bodies continually. What's worked in the past may no longer work. For me, if I crave it I don't eat it or buy it. It's that simple. By remaining as sweet-free as possible, relatively, it's now obvious my cravings have aksi changed. I prefer breakfast, salads, proteins, slow relaxing snacks. Odd...I wonder if my tastes have matured as well?

  - sherry

• August 6, 2010 1:04 a.m.

  One has to avoid sugars, processed meats and white bread at all cost. Dairy based products, junk food snacks and stick spreads can be replaced by Vegan foods.

  - Eduard

• August 5, 2010 5:29 p.m.

  My doctor says to avoid low-fat milk, that it may cause cancer, and that cow's milk in general can be detrimental - a NEJM study in the early '90s indicated that it can cause (among other things) Type 1 diabetes (which doesn't matter in my case because I already have it). Instead, he recommends to enjoy small amounts of goat's milk products such as cheese and yogurt - and I've found goat milk cream cheese, kefir, and ice cream - all yummy! Goat milk products, even ice cream and kefir, don't spike my blood sugar the way similar cow's milk products do.

  - Donna

• August 5, 2010 11:46 a.m.

  Although I generally agree with your advice, I must take exception. It appears that your suggestions above are for EVERYONE. I'd like to see, finally, someone say: Eat white rice, white bread, etc if advised by your physician. I have CKD and CANNOT eat many fresh fruits, whole grains, dairy, etc. I am also hyperkaelemic... so my diet is way out of the ordinary. I have a hard time finding the information I need to keep on track, to keep my CFR numbers from slipping. How about some SOUND advice for the 20 million of us with Chronic Kidney Disease (more than "don't eat this, eat this".

  - Steve

• August 5, 2010 10:12 a.m.

  After reading the comments I think Avery should be writing these "Expert Blog" postings. They know what the heck they're talking about - let's talk about all the unhealthy food additives out there that saturate 90% of the stuff found in grocery stores!

  - Sheesh, again

• August 5, 2010 10:06 a.m.

  Holy crap, how many of these articles are going to continue to be written? I mean, come on - this isn't exactly a secret or something that people can't figure out. Next news flash: water is wet!

  - Sheesh

• August 5, 2010 9:37 a.m.

  I avoid sauces (soy, salad dressings, prepared marinades) and in restaurants I ask for them on the side and dab only if the dish needs it. A top avoidance is anything with Sorbitol or Sucrose, a favorite gut-killing sweetener manufacturers add (they should be forced to eat their own products with this stuff). Also, think of how many miles a product traveled to get to your kitchen: recently discovered the garlic I picked up came from China! I put it back and figured I'd find some good old Gilroy, Calif. garlic sooner or later. How can we know what inspections govern their (foreign) production and ground/water pollution? Corn is a big allergy (for me) and it's in everything! And I also avoid dishes where Lard is sneaked in like some Mexican foods and dear old pie (crust). Breaking a dairy-rooted husband from butter, margerine, and processed meats of all kinds (sausages, brats--name anything with nitrates) is one of the toughest challenges I've faced. I use a mental rule that if the food item has more than 2 degrees of separation from producer to my kitchen, I try to avoid it. This makes shopping at the farmers markets and locally run food coops way more attractive but even they have their boxes, jars, and frozen concoctions of mass-jelled, freeze-dried, and smoked 'foods' so it takes mental preparation to shop, that is if you care about your health.

  - Jen

• August 5, 2010 9:11 a.m.

  I also avoid all bottled salad dressing...too many preservatives. I make my own by using fresh squeezed lime juice, minced garlic, and extra virgin olive oil. I like the citrus of the lime so much that I have cut down on the amount of olive oil.

  - Lori

• August 3, 2010 3:42 p.m.

  I like things that have only a low number of ingredients, like butter vs margarine. Butter is butter and salt, margarine, I can't even pronounce those ingredents. I try to eat on the 'outside' of the grocery store, the meats (not a lot of red), the dairy (skim milk, not a lot of cheese), veggies are always good, fruit and I do like frozen veggies. I try to make my own if i can, like, french fries, cut up potatoes and season and a little oil- yum. I also eat only whole grain bread. But does anyone know if wheat bread is whole grain?

  - Tina

• July 29, 2010 2:57 p.m.

  MY list of ten foods to avoid: 1 - Corn starch, corn sugars, high fructose corn syrup. 2 - Artificial color, annato. 3 - Sodium Benzoate, Sulfur Dioxide, meta-bi-sulfates, EDTA, anything added "to preserve color"... 4 - Sorbitol, Xylotol... 5 - Cane, sucrose, raw cane juice, turbinado... 6 - "Flavoring" either natural or artificial. 7 - Yucca Extracts. 8 - Anything labeled "diet". 9 - Sodium Alginate (a thickener) 10 - Food in boxes, cans, produce in clamshells or sealed in bags...

  - Avery

• July 22, 2010 8:36 a.m.

  All good comments. Whole wheat crackers are fine (the salty, fatty-type snacks are on my avoid list). Some white rices (including parboiled) are enriched to equal the vitamin/mineral content of brown - they're "ok." However, they don't have fiber, so I prefer brown rice and other whole grains for a side dish. There are "plain" luncheon meats that are minimally processed and lean/low in fat. Processed ones that have lots of salt, additives and fat that many people eat almost daily are a concern. Most people (not all) don't need the saturated fat found in whole milk and dairy products. The calories saved and the impact of lowering saturated fat over the course of days/years can help control weight and lower blood fat levels. As mentioned in a previous blog, raw milk is controversial. Thanks for the comments!

  - - your blog host, Jennifer

• July 20, 2010 8:30 p.m.

  Wow, Lori. Raw milk isn't something that needs to be "filtered." Pasteurizing and homogenizing it denatures it and ruins the nutrition in it. You might want to research that question for yourself. You might also want to look into what makes grassfed beef better than grainfed. There's more than meets the eye on those issues.

  - Anna

• July 20, 2010 5:20 p.m.

  What about "whole wheat" (5g whole grain per serving) crackers? I bake my own whole wheat bread but I do love the whole wheat crackers.

  - seminole