May is National Mental Health Awareness month, and the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) has launched the WhyCare? campaign to help spread the word. As NAMI states on their website, “the WhyCare? campaign is an opportunity to share the importance of mental health treatment, support and services to the millions of people, families, caregivers and […]
“Most of us want a super-simple way to manage the information about things we eat and drink,” says Kim Kirchherr, MS, RDN, a nutrition consultant in Chicago who has worked extensively in supermarket nutrition. . She recommends using 5% (low in a nutrient) and 20% (high in a nutrient) of the Daily Value as a […]
There’s a juice for every day of the week, and you, or someone you know, has probably tried them all: green juice, detox juice, and juices infused with ginger and turmeric. Recent research has shown that juices are an effective way to increase vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients in the diet. In the U.S., most people […]
Gluten is a protein found in wheat, barley and rye. “The fact that gluten is a protein surprises people, since today’s food conversation is very positive about protein,” says Kim Kirchherr, MS, RDN, a nutrition consultant in Chicago who has worked extensively in supermarket nutrition. “Gluten is the reason bread has that wonderful, chewy texture.” […]
Vegetarians have lower rates of overweight and obesity, diabetes, heart disease, and some cancers compared with those on a typical American diet (Appleby & Key 2016). That sounds pretty compelling, but it doesn’t necessarily mean animal foods (meat, poultry, fish, dairy products) have no place in a healthy diet. In addition to protein, meats are […]
An increasingly common misconception in the food and health worlds is that carbohydrates are bad for you. Your body needs carbs, just like it needs proteins and fats to give you energy, to feed your organs, and keep you generally healthy and well. The point is not to dump all carbs, but to look at […]
If you get less than enough iron, you become anemic; too little vitamin C, and you get scurvy. Vitamins and minerals are critical for good health, but the message for clients, says Kim Kirchherr, MS, RDN, a nutrition consultant in Chicago who has worked extensively in supermarket nutrition, is “bigger isn’t always better. This is […]
Leonard Nimoy, the beloved actor best known for playing Mr. Spock on Star Trek, was a man of many talents. Along with being an actor, he was a director, writer, photographer, and singer. But while many fans can quote his most famous line from Star Trek, not everyone knows about the severe health issue that ultimately ended […]
The chemicals in sunscreen don’t just sit on top of the skin, they absorb in the bloodstream, according to new research from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. A study published early in May in the peer-reviewed medical journal JAMA found that several active ingredients in different sunscreens enter the bloodstream at levels that far […]
Indians — along with the Nepalese, Pakistanis, Italians, the French, and many others — have been cooking with chickpea flour for centuries. Americans, on the other hand, only seem to have woken up to the ingredient in the last decade or so. And they’ve woken up in a big way. It’s hard to trace the […]