April 9, 2008

How Many Meals To Good (or Bad) Health?

co2footprint-hamburger.jpgTo most people, eating an occasional fast food meal or drinking a soda once in a while is acceptable. Even eating out regularly would be considered healthy to most.

But how many meals does it take to lead you to good as well as bad health?

More on How Many Meals To Good (or Bad) Health?

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February 7, 2008

All Jacked Up: The Junk Food Movie Food Companies Don’t Want You To See

I just learned about a new documentary film that exposes the truth behind the junk and processed food industry and the effect on our children. It’s called ‘All Jacked Up’ and features interviews with both top health and nutrition experts as well as real teenagers as they share their traumatic experiences with living on junk food. More on All Jacked Up: The Junk Food Movie Food Companies Don’t Want You To See

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January 30, 2008

Do Services Like Bistro MD Help Lose Weight?

Today I heard about a service called Bistro MD that delivers a ‘gourmet style diet’ to your door and is doctor designed. BistroMD is designed by Dr. Caroline Cederquist M.D. , a Bariatric Physician and contributing Medical Editor to the NBC Today Show.

More on Do Services Like Bistro MD Help Lose Weight?

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January 16, 2008

The Hallelujah Diet, Most Popular Diet

January is one of the most popular months for diets and according to Hitwise, an internet intelligence gathering service, the Hallelujah Diet was the most searched for diet this season. And probably with good reason, it works.

More on The Hallelujah Diet, Most Popular Diet

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January 9, 2008

Whole Food Pioneer Gets Organic Certification, Mission to Improve Your Health

Phi PlusOne of the few purely ‘whole food’ companies in the market today, WholeFoodFarmacy, has been granted Organic Certification on three of their popular foods, Phi Plus, Cranberry Phi and Coco Cherry Phi.

Organic certification means that all ingredients are sourced from foods that are grown naturally and free of pesticides and chemicals.

WholeFoodFarmacy is a great example of how food companies can encourage healthy living habits and provide products that support their vision. The company believes strongly in the benefits of whole foods and only supplies products that are minimally handled and contain only whole food vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds, herbs, spices and natural grains. Here’s a little more directly from their mission statement:

“The ingredients to health, happiness, vitality, and longevity are no secret. Every major non-profit health organization in the world has been offering the same advice for many years. Eat more fruits and veggies, drink more water, exercise on a daily basis, lose weight if you need to, don’t smoke, avoid toxins, & reduce stress.

To that end, we have combined delicious, healthy foods, with convenience and affordability. Our salon quality personal care items offer superior results without the toxic chemicals.

Nothing short of a consumer based, grass roots return to healthy choices and lifestyles can steer our children, and future generations, in a healthier direction.”

They plan to continue the Organic Certification of the balance of their products and provide only the best foods available.

Personally, my family enjoys the foods and many of the natural personal care products. In fact, one of their 13 day programs, the Tri-Decathlon, helped many family members, friends and readers lose excess weight, regain their health and their tastes for a more natural, whole food diet. I often recommend these programs to those looking to make an improvement in their health, be it losing weight, overcoming a health issue or just wanting to improve their diet.

The reason these foods work is because you eat only whole foods for the 7 or 13 days and your body regains its natural taste for fresh fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds and natural grains. They are conveniently packaged and the program is easy to follow (eat as much as you want!). Once you lose the ‘addiction’ to the Standard American Diet (SAD) of fats, clogging dairy products, heart un-healthy meats and processed and junk foods that a majority of Americans (and now becoming the world) eat, you regain your body’s natural taste for what nature intended. You start eating more fresh fruits and vegetables in combination with the WholeFoodFarmacy foods and snacks. In this way, changing your habits is much easier since you are not fighting with the taste addictions (cravings) that cripple many diet efforts and makes it much easier to regain your health, your optimal weight and just feel better all around. The foods are convenient, mostly uncooked, tasty and made from all natural whole foods, nothing else.

And regardless of the fact the New Year is upon us when many of us look to make healthier choices, any time is a great time to take back your health, your body and continue a path to your best health for life. You only have one, why wait?

Visit the WholeFoodFarmacy for more information.

To your best health!

Mark Idzik

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January 2, 2008

Is the Flat Belly Diet Just Another Fad?

flatbelly_book.gifThere’s lots of talk about the Flat Belly Diet, being the New Year and all. But is this just another fad diet that will leave you disappointed with more fat than when you started? More on Is the Flat Belly Diet Just Another Fad?

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December 27, 2007

Can The National Body Challenge Help You?

As the New Year is upon us, it’s the time many make resolutions to lose weight. But what’s the best way?

This year Discovery Health wants to help with the National Body Challenge. What is it?

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December 18, 2007

Dan Fogelberg Dies of Prostate Cancer, Didn’t Want Others To Suffer Like He Did

Popular singer and songwriter Dan Fogelberg died the other day of advanced prostate cancer. I’ve read that the cancer was detected in 2004 although was too advanced for doctors or treatments to help. He spent the last few years of his life enjoying his family, skiing, his new home and friends. One of his last wishes was More on Dan Fogelberg Dies of Prostate Cancer, Didn’t Want Others To Suffer Like He Did

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December 6, 2007

Do You Know How Many Calories You Eat Daily?

I was curious about how many calories I ate the other day after I noticed an article that mentioned the average American often consumes between 5000-6000 calories during a holiday meal. 5000-6000 calories!? For the average person that’s more than double their recommended intake for an entire day. And normally most folks don’t exercise on those holiday days, so the impact is even more drastic.

Do you know the nutritional value of what you eat every day?

From my research and conversations I have regularly, most of us don’t.

So I used my trusty Fitday calorie counter and nutrition software that calculates the nutritional information and in the foods you eat and gives you the breakdown of calories, proteins, fats and carbs you’ve eaten that day. It told me I had eaten 1879 calories that day, with 17% from fat, 10% from protein and 73% from carbohydrates, a little less than normal. Here’s a snapshot of the summary:

fitday.gif

So what did I eat to reach almost 2000 calories this day? Here’s a snapshot:

Nutrition Software

If the image isn’t clear, here’s what I had this day:

  • 2 mango and banana smoothies with dates and oranges
  • Large herb salad with parsley, cilantro, kale, spinach, green onions, avocado, raw honey & tomatoes<