Almost half of all adults in the United States have high blood pressure―but many of us are not aware of it. High blood pressure, also known as hypertension, is a leading cause of death in the United States. You may think that blood pressure needs to be [...]
February is Heart Month so it's a good time to be mindful about any risk factors you may have. Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the US. It accounts for 1 in every 4 deaths each year. What are those risks? High blood pressure High [...]
Each year, US News and World Report does an annual review of diets to determine which are the "Best Diets". They enlist a panel of medical and nutrition experts to review popular diet plans and eating styles and come up with a “best” list. The Panel [...]
As a dietitian who has studied heart diseases and diet for nearly 30 years, I thought it would be a good time to review some blood pressure basics (I'm also in the middle of editing a book on blood pressure and diet, so it's top of mind). Given [...]
Do you love nuts? Nuts are a healthy food to include in your diet. As plant foods, they are naturally cholesterol-free. Studies have shown that including nuts in the diet is good for your heart and brain. Of course they're also tasty, so it's easy to add them [...]
Today is Go Red for Women® day. What's that all about? It's an awareness campaign sponsored by the American Heart Association that encourages women to monitor their health, eat well and exercise. Cardiovascular deaths in women hit about 500,000 per year. The campaign aims to dispel the myths [...]
I just arrived home from a conference about some of the hottest topics in nutrition right now: Food safety/allergy, dietary fat and heart health (omega-3 fatty acids, dairy fat), food intolerance (gluten, wheat, sugars, dairy protein), plant-based proteins, diet and irritable bowel disease, gut health and the microbiome, [...]
"Eat your greens" said my grandmother. Growing up, my Italian immigrant grandparents always grew vegetables in the summer, and my dad followed suit. Now my husband is the gardener of the house. My grandfather built a "hot bed" in which he'd start some greens or small plants, like tomatoes [...]
The American Cancer Society estimates over 95,000 new cases of colon cancer will be diagnosed this year. Besides skin cancer, colon and rectal cancers are the third most common cancer. The Center for Disease Control recommends that screening for colon cancer via the colonoscopy begins at age 50, [...]
The upcoming US Dietary Guidelines for Americans (currently under review for release of the 2015 version) are eliminating the guideline to limit dietary cholesterol. Interestingly, most dietitians have never focused on this guideline, so this is not news to us. Photo courtesy of the Academy of Nutrition [...]