Volume Discount. Or, Stop Playing With Your Food!

We’ve been mislead about how to have a healthy relationship with food. For some reason, we’ve been taught to think that “good” or “healthy” eating and nutrition is about getting the largest volume of food into our stomachs with the least amount of calories. I am not sure where this trend started, but it’s definitely perpetuated in our food marketing, media, and a lot of nutrition advice.  Our society’s idea of nutrition has become about how much sheer volume we can pack into ourselves without “exceeding calories.”

This is not a healthy way to eat. It’s not a healthy relationship for our nation to have with food. If it were, we wouldn’t have the skyrocketing obesity, diabetes, heart disease, and other lifestyle-related disease rates we do today. The answer is simple, but it goes against the unfortunate American value that “bigger is better,” and the more you have the more you’re worth. Ergo, the more you can eat and stay “skinny,” the better you are, the healthier you must be.

There are many reasons that most people who lose weight put it back on, but one of the biggest is this: they have not changed their relationship with food and food culture. We’ve gotten used to feeling “full” all the time, and believing that it is necessary and good to feel this way. That we should be able to eat large amounts of food without gaining weight. That we all “deserve” to be able to eat whatever we want, whenever we want, and that it’s nutritionally reasonable to poke, pull, and tweak foods to fit into what we want them to be instead of what they are.  That we should be able to eat the way we want to eat, instead of the way we need to eat, without consequences. All of this despite demonstrable evidence that it’s a failing formula.

The fix for this is simple, and the more research that is done, the more it’s holding up: eat quality, whole, nutrient-dense foods, and eat them in an appropriate quantity.

A skin-on, bone-in chicken breast has only 50 or so more calories than it does skin off, and only about 2.5g saturated fats.* If you’re watching your weight, the answer isn’t to skin your chicken to save 50 calories, it’s to eat less chicken or do more exercise. In my last series about nutrition rules, you’ll note I said eat more veggies, and stop eating whole cuts of meat as frequently. Why? Because it makes far more sense to eat more vegetables and get the fiber and nutrients, while eating less meat and dairy but still getting the complete and natural fats, than it does to find “work-arounds.”

But what about those FDA “portion” sizes? It’s important to remember those are generalizations (and, frankly, bad ones). For a smaller/shorter person, a reasonable portion is much less. For a taller/larger person, much more.   Yes, as a small person I’ll be able to eat less skin-on chicken or whole milk than my partner, who is extremely tall, will be able to eat. And, that’s okay. It’s okay to eat less food, or less than than an “FDA” portion of a certain food. It’s okay to stock up on green veggies and take a smaller portion of the whole higher-calorie whole food, of which more and more studies are showing that removing nutrients (including fat) has detrimental effects (or, at the very least, removes potential beneficial effects and essential nutrients). Saturated fats are now being shown to help balance HDL and LDL cholesterol, for example. Which doesn’t mean an overabundance of saturated fats are good for you, either. Again, the answer is simply to eat it, just eat less of it.

This isn’t a new or even radical viewpoint on my part. Pretty much this same thing has been said in countless works on the subject, including the best-selling “French Women Don’t Get Fat.”  French cuisine isn’t exactly known for it’s use of skim milk, margarine, or skinned chicken. Yet, despite it being a best-seller and making the talk-show rounds, eating habits in the US have not changed. We still demand larger and larger portions, and try to find ways to make those portions contain less and less calories.

And yet, as a nation we continue to wonder why we’re getting fatter and sicker.

(Author’s note: Any inflammatoy/name-calling/trolling posts or off-topic vegan/paleo/locavore/whatever proselytizing comments will be deleted.)

* Info from Julie Upton, dietician writing in “Eating Light” magazine. I don’t have this online, so you’ll need to find the issue for yourself.

Back to Basics, Nutrition Rule #10

Rule 10: COOK

This is probably the most important rule of nutrition, at least in my opinion. To be clear, my definition of cooking does not include opening a box of Kraft “Dinner.” That’s not cooking. That’s boiling and stirring. Cooking means taking whole ingredients and making them into something edible.

WHY:

-You control what goes into your food. You can choose to leave out the preservatives, use healthier oils and fats, reduce the sodium, or add more vegetables.  You are no longer a “Zombie eater,” which is what I call folks who mindlessly eat whatever they happen to be driving by at the time they decide they’re hungry.

-Almost anything you make at home is healthier than fast food, and even most restaurant food. It’s actually difficult to replicate the number of calories in a McDonald’s sandwich. You actually have to work hard to get that many calories in there, not to mention all the crap you can’t pronounce .  Making a burger with all the fixin’s at home will not only save you potentially hundreds of calories per meal, but the calories you do eat are far more likely to contain something resembling vitamins or minerals.

-You appreciate food more when you cook it yourself. So do children, so have them help in the kitchen. One of the easiest ways to get kids to eat healthy is to have them help select food items and put them together into something edible. It helps build a healthier relationship with food, making it a more integral part of life than just the act of consuming. And, this can lead to healthier choices and food preferences.

HOW

-If you’ve never cooked anything in your life, take a basic cooking class if you can. It’s worth the money, which you’ll save in short order once you stop eating out.

-If you have the basic skills of picking out food (what produce is ripe, what meat is lean, etc.), cutting and chopping, simmering, sauteeing, etc., then invest some time in reading cookbooks (you can get them from the library, and either just photocopy or write down what you want to try–if you like enough of the recipes, buy the book). Or, use quality sites like epicurious.com,  VegetarianTimes.com, or others that fit your lifestyle. Work on a collection of recipes you and your family will eat, and put them in a binder.

-Start small. Cook a few nights a week, and add nights as you find recipes. Start with easy, quicker recipes. As your skill develops, you can add more complicated recipes. Unless you love doing dishes, start with some good one-pot meals or crockpot meals. Start with inexpensive ingredients, like legumes, whole wheat pastas, or in-season vegetables. That way, if you totally muck it up (and we all do sometimes), it won’t be as big a deal. Work your way to more expensive ingredients as you gain confidence in your skills

-Plan for it. Each night, look at what you’re going to eat the next day. See, this is where the Meal Planning rule come  in! Take a moment each evening to get things out of the freezer, set up the crockpot, or anything else that requires a little preparation.

-Just do it. Like most things in life, getting good at cooking requires practice. The more you do it, the better you’ll become at things like determining how long a particular recipe will take to make, or what time you should put the rice on so it is done when your chicken comes out of the oven.

And, that’s the end of the series. There are a lot of smaller “rules,” and there are a lot of paths to a healthier lifestyle. Start simply, and see what works for you. Educate yourself, make your health a priority, and enjoy your food. The rest will follow.

Related articles

• Back to Basics: Nutrition Rule #8 (eclecticedibles.wordpress.com)
• Back to Basics, Nutrition Rule 4 (eclecticedibles.wordpress.com)
• Back to Basics: Nutrition Rule 2 (eclecticedibles.wordpress.com)
• Stop Complicating Things. Eating Well Isn’t Magic. (eclecticedibles.wordpress.com)
• Back to Basics: Nutrition Rule #9 (eclecticedibles.wordpress.com)

Back to Basics: Nutrition Rule #6

Rule #6: Eat Your Vegetables.

This is often, it seems, the hardest thing for people to do; but, it needs to be done.

Why:

-Vegetables provide an important source of complex carbohydrates that fill you up and keep you full, with very few calories.

-The fiber content in vegetables helps stabilize blood sugar, helping to protect you from insulin resistance and diabetes.

-The fiber also keep the digestive system moving along, and can protect against some cancers.

-Vegetables contain vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants that are important for your immune system, skin, brain, and pretty much every other part of your body.

-Many vegetables contain protein. Now, there’s no actual protein shortage here in the US, but it does mean veggies are a good stand-in for meat proteins if quality meats aren’t available or too expensive.

How:

No one wants to eat a gray, floppy mess on a plate. Vegetables can and should be appetizing, and the most important thing to do is to learn how to cook them well. Choose fresh, crisp vegetables with bright colors, and mix them up.

-Roast. I don’t think I’ve met a vegetable that doesn’t roast well, even leafy greens. And, it’s easy: just toss with olive oil, salt, and pepper (add other spices if you want), lay in single layer on a cookie sheet or baking pan, and put into a hot oven (I usually use about 375o F) until done. Roasting caramelizes a vegetable’s sugar, rendering it yummy, and retaining most of the nutrients!

-Blanch. This is good for broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, edamame, etc. Plunge into boiling water for just a minute or two, then plunge into cold water. Eat cold as a salad, or as munchies.

-Kabob & grill. Cut into kebab-size pieces, toss with olive oil and teriyaki sauce if you like, skewer, and grill.

There are many other ways to do veggies; raw, sauteed, seared, ribboned instead of noodles, etc. Just don’t boil them, and don’t over steam. Don’t buy them pre-cooked and smothered in sauce, either. Fresh, whole, vegetables, and cook them at home.

.-Start by adding a vegetable to each dinner, either as side dish or incorporated into the main dish, or as a dinner salad.  Once you’ve mastered that, add them to lunches, and even breakfasts (eggs on a bed of tomatoes and wilted spinach is divine!).

The general rule is you can eat as many vegetable as you want (dietary restrictions such as diabetes notwithstanding). Even Weight Watchers is giving most of them zero points now. The exception to this is corn, which is technically not a vegetable except under the broadest definition. It’s a grain, and contains a lot of starch and sugar, so it needs to be eaten in moderation.

Related articles

• Back to Basics: Nutrition Rule 2 (eclecticedibles.wordpress.com)
• Back to Basics, Nutrition Rule 4 (eclecticedibles.wordpress.com)
• Stop Complicating Things. Eating Well Isn’t Magic. (eclecticedibles.wordpress.com)
• Back to Basics: Rule 3 (eclecticedibles.wordpress.com)

Back to Basics: Rule #5

Rule #5: No Fast Food.

There are exceptions to every rule. I recently had to make an unexpected, emergency 14-hours-each-way drive for a death in the family, and I barely had time to get in the car, let along grocery shop and pack a cooler. It’ll happen. That is what fast food is for. I will say I haven’t been so incredibly sick as I was when I returned home, though, having eaten really poorly for a week. I regretted it for almost a month, and it’s taught me I need to keep ready-to-go travel food on hand, because I just can’t handle the crap they serve in fast-food places.

Why?

-Fast food generally means you’ve planned badly. I am not saying you can’t ever have a burger from McDonald’s again, but I am saying it should only happen a few times a year, and then only as a special “treat,” or an absolute emergency.

-It’s really high in calories, even the salads if you get croutons or add dressings. Take a look at the nutrition information. For most people, one sandwich from a fast food chain can be up to half of their daily caloric intake needs. Add fries, and the vast majority of people in the US have gone well over half, often up to 2/3 (and, with the bigger sandwiches and fries, it can be almost the entirety of some people’s caloric daily needs).

-Almost all of it contains ingredients that violate the previous rules. Yes, even that yogurt parfait will surprise you with it’s loads of processed sugars and preservatives. “Healthy” options at most of these places just mean “slightly less awful options.”

-It’s not satisfying, because the ingredients it does contain do not set off the hormones that tell your body it’s full. So, you eat far more. It’s also got little or no fiber, so you’re hungrier sooner.

-You don’t want to know what’s in it. Trust me on this. If you saw what it was made of and how it was processed, you’d never eat it again.

-There are exceptions, but not many, and they change often enough that it’s hard to keep up with what might be reasonable options. Ingredients change quickly in the fast food industry, and what you’re eating one week may not be what you’re eating the next.

How:

-Plan your meals. If you need lunch at work, plan your dinners to give you leftovers, or put sandwich or salad fixings on your grocery list. If you don’t have access to a refrigerator, get a cooler or insulated lunch bag and an ice pack. If you don’t have access to heating facilities, plan lunches that can be eaten cold.

-Pack healthy snacks for yourself and children if you’re on the go. I keep a cooler in my car almost all of the time. I also keep roasted almonds and walnuts with me.

-Get used to being  hungry. Here’s the truth: people can be hungry for a half hour with no ill effects. we don’t need to eat the very second we feel a slight hunger pang. It’s better if you eat before you get hungry by setting a solid meal plan, but if that goes awry, know that eating in a half an hour or hour when you get home will be fine (obviously, if you’re diabetic or have hypoglycemia, this doesn’t apply; but, what does apply is that you need to keep appropriate snacks at your disposal).

Related articles

• Stop Complicating Things. Eating Well Isn’t Magic. (eclecticedibles.wordpress.com)
• Back to Basics: Nutrition Rule 2 (eclecticedibles.wordpress.com)
• Back to Basics, Nutrition Rule 4 (eclecticedibles.wordpress.com)

Back to Basics: Rule 3

I know we all love ice cream and candy, but processed sugars are bad for you.  And yes, I am including artificial sweeteners here. The key isn’t finding ways to eat more candy, it’s finding a balance in your diet so you stop craving it.

Why:

- They become addictive, so it’s hard to stop eating. Processed sugars have what is called a “high glycemic index,” which essentially means they spike your blood sugar, then drop it off a cliff. This starts a cycle of fatigue, which makes you eat more (usually more sugar), which spikes your blood sugar and drops if off another cliff, so you eat more (usually more sugar). This is much like a drug addiction cycle, and it acts the same way, causing you to crave more and more sugar.

-They make you fat. This is a three-parter:

Artificial sweeteners break the metabolic cycle, and can cause weight gain even though they have fewer calories than sugar (and in some cases, no calories). There’s a lot of science behind this that you can look up if you want, but the simple explanation is that your body is programmed to rev up your metabolism when it tastes sweet, because sweet things usually have more calories. Your body is very smart, and doesn’t like wasting energy; so, it stops this cycle once it realizes there aren’t going to be any more calories coming.

Processed sugars, like HFCS and table sugar, are empty calories. No nutrients, just calories.  So, either nutrient rich foods are being replaced by sugars, or are being eaten on top of them. Usually, it’s the latter.

-Some are processed through the liver. Why is that bad? Again, there’s a lot of science-y stuff here, but essentially it means that they can be turned directly into fat, and that they signal your body to keep turning other things into fat. So, even if you’re only eating your necessary amount of calories per day, if you’re getting a lot of them via processed sugars you may have a difficult time losing or maintaining weight.

-Processed sugars, especially liquids like High Fructose Corn Syrup, can contribute to insulin resistance, which translates into diabetes.

-Artificial sweeteners have some nasty long-term side effects, and some are known to be carcinogenic (meaning they elevate your risk for certain cancers).

-Your getting far more of them in your daily diet than you likely know about. Ever looked at the back of a jar of tomato sauce? About 90% of those jars will have “sugar” or “high fructose corn syrup (HFCS)” listed as an ingredient. Loaves of bread? About 85% of what is sold in most supermarkets contain a processed sweetener. While some people say that sugar and HFCS are fine in moderation, it’s very difficult to get them in what most people would consider “moderation.”

-There are great alternatives, so there’s no real need. Natural sweets, like honey and whole fruit, have lower glycemic indexes, and so won’t spike your blood sugar like processed sugars do. These natural sweets also contain beneficial ingredients, so they’re not just empty calories.

How to Stop:

There are two schools of thought on this, one that works and one that doesn’t (in my humble opinion). Sugar is addictive, and you have to break that cycle. You really just need to stop eating it, and live with the fact that you want a candy bar. I recommend a “sugar fast,” or a complete break from all processed sugars, for 2 weeks. Eat fruits and veggies, add some honey to your coffee, but no processed sugars, not even in your bread and pasta. The first few days will be awful, but you’ll live through it. After that, it’s much easier. After 2 weeks, your cravings should be gone. At that point, I’ll allow myself a treat once in a while (by which I mean every few weeks for a birthday party or something), but still stick to natural sources of sugar.

The other method is to  “wean” yourself off, and slowly switch over to natural sugars. I’ve known far more people to fail at this method than succeed, but if you’re not ready to go cold turkey, you can give it a try.

Everyone I know who has given up processed sugars and artificial sweeteners on a regular basis feels better and has a much easier time maintaining their weight.

Related Articles

• Back to Basics: Nutrition Rule 2 (eclecticedibles.wordpress.com)

Back to Basics Series: Rule 1

As I promised, each rule on my “Back to Basics” nutrition steps are going to get their own posts. I don’t intend to go into deep science here, as hat is a lot of what seems to be confusing for people.  There is a lot of hard science to back what I am saying, and I may end up going into more detail at a later date (and, it’s already in many of my archived posts). For this, though, I wanted basic information people can get started on right away, with solid and easy-to-understand foundations.

Rule 1: Do not eat prepackaged or precooked foods. Period. Put it back on the shelf.

Reasons:

-Prepackaged and precooked foods usually contain a lot of additives that are bad for you, and that are linked to everything from obesity to diabetes to cancer. Also, many contain additives that can actually make you hungrier.

-You are likely to eat more of them than the stated portion size. Most “foods” of this type have unrealistically small portions sizes, and most people eat far more than that. So, while you think you’re getting 100 calories, you could be getting far, far more.

-Empty calories. Your body can tell the difference in the types of calories you put into your body. For example, fructose and sucrose–two types of sugar–are processed in a completely different way.  This means that you will retain fat in different amounts from different foods.  Highly processed foods metabolize more quickly, and send signals to your body that there is an excess amount of energy available, which it stores as fat. Whole grains, lean proteins, and produce metabolize more slowly, and so are less likely to get stored as fat.

-You are likely to feel less satisfied, and therefore eat more. Processed foods often do not trigger the hormonal response your body needs to feel satisfied. They can trigger the production of Ghrelin, the “hunger hormone,” and suppress the production and uptake of the hormone that signals your full and that your body needs to metabolize, Leptin.

Aside from seeing you through an emergency when you have no power or clean water, processed foods do nothing good for you. They’re not only not worth eating, they sabotage healthy weight maintenance, and they don’t taste nearly as good as the real thing!

Your Body is Not a Tabletop RPG Character

So, stop trying to min-max your diet like it’s a character sheet.

I can’t tell you the number of questions I get about random, weird “diet tricks” and nutrition. These things pretty invariably come from people who want to keep eating an unhealthy diet while griping that they can’t lose weight and keep it off.  Truth for those people: you know what you need to do, so stop trying to play the numbers.

Your body is a biological system that works with a whole, not with individual parts. Eating nothing but carrots all day so you can have pizza with your Weight Watcher’s points is not going to accomplish your goal in the long run (assuming your goal is to maintain a healthy weight and be healthier person). Yes, you will be hungry and miserable most of the time if you do this, and while you’ll initially lose weight, you won’t keep it off. That isn’t because Weight Watcher’s doesn’t work–it does. In fact, it’s a great program. It’s because you’re missing the point, whether on accident or purposefully.

-Unless you’re an Olympic athlete or a supermodel, the question of whether or not eating a piece of fruit at breakfast is going to cause you to lose weight more slowly is moot. Eat the fruit. Really, it’s fruit. Unless you’re eating an entire bunch of bananas or 2 lbs of strawberries, you’re fine. Stop worrying about the fruit and worry about the rest of your diet.

-Grapes are great, but they’re just grapes. Yes, they have resveratrol, which can help control fat cells. Yes, they’re a part of a healthy diet. No, you can’t eat enough of them to get rid of the 6-pack of Pepsi and the Big Mac you ate yesterday. Adding calories to calories doesn’t help you.

-Garlic isn’t magic. It’s tasty, it has some great healthful benefits, but it won’t make you thinner.

-Going to the gym does not negate a Snicker’s bar a day.  You need to walk 3 miles briskly to get rid of one Snickers, which is about an hour on a treadmill for the average person. And that’s not counting the issues caused by the sugars. Empty calories are empty calories, and the gym can’t change that.

-Acai or goji berry isn’t a level 16 wizard: it’s not going to magic away fat despite bad eating habits. Do these things have some important nutrients? Sure. Can they help with weight loss or health? Possibly, though hard science is still lacking on either. Maybe they do help. But, they can’t counteract a bad diet.

-Eating a salad with your pizza does not make the pizza have any less calories. I am not saying eating the salad is bad, but it doesn’t make the pizza healthier. Skip the pizza, eat the salad.

-Eating diet food all day so you can guzzle two cans of soda is just going to lead to diabetes. Skinny people get diabetes, too. Get off the soda, and get off the diet food. There is no replacement for whole foods.

-1500 calories is a lot of food when it’s high-quality food like vegetables, grains, and lean proteins. It is not a lot of food when it’s pizza. This fact isn’t going to change, so your eating habits are going to have to if you don’t want to be hungry all the time.

There is no amount of min-maxing that is going to allow most of us to eat 3 cheeseburgers, pizza, fries, and soda regularly and still be a good weight and in good health. That’s just not how it works, and pretty much everyone knows this. The truth is, there is not “secret” to being a good weight.  It’s portion control and cutting out processed foods. Unless you have a medical issue, that’s the end of the story. Spend less time trying to game the system, and more time thinking about what you eat.

“But, you’re skinny! How would you know my struggles!?” Yeah, I get that a lot, too. So, here’s something I don’t talk about often on the blog: I have to keep my weight within 3-5% of my current weight, or some pretty nasty things can happen because I actually do have a medical condition, and my dosage for the condition is, to some degree, weight dependent. Since I weigh about 110lbs and am 5 feet tall, that means my weight can only vary in either direction by 3-5lbs before I start getting some unfortunate side effects. And, the medication and the medical condition have the added challenge that both can cause weight gain. So yes, I live the same struggle daily. I love food, and staying fit and at a good weight isn’t any easier for me than it is for most people. What works aren’t weird little tweaks that are the equivalent of cyclist getting a water bottle that’s 2 oz. lighter, or a gamer giving up a point of strength to get a point of dexterity. Those things only matter to a pro-level cyclist or in a world of fantasy.

This isn’t pro cycling, and this isn’t a fantasy. What works is the overall lifestyle, and there’s no min-maxing that’s going to change that.

Related Articles

• Can Diet Soda Cause Weight Gain? (everydayhealth.com)
• Weight Watchers Revamps Point System, Emphasizes Natural Foods (huffingtonpost.com)
• Weight Watchers’ Overhaul: Zero for Fruits and Veggies (healthland.time.com)

Monday Healthy Eating: Jan. 11, 2011

Don’t eat in front of your TV, your computer, your video game console, or your book. When you eat, eat like an adult: at a table, with silverware and a napkin, taking time to enjoy your food. And, like our grandparents taught our parents, teach your kids to eat like an adult.

Why? Because study after study shows that eating while distracted means poorer food and eating choices, including overeating and empty calories.

Make your dinner time a dinner time, and your TV time a TV time. Don’t let the two intersect, and don’t let your children do it, either. Kids eat up to twice as many calories when they eat in front of the television as they do when they sit down to eat undistracted. Adults aren’t much better.

Plus, and this is important to me as an avid food lover, you should be enjoying your food, not just swallowing it. The more time you spend savoring your food, the quicker your reach satiety, so you’ll not only enjoy your food more while eating less.

Monday Healthy Eating

Today’s healthy tip:  Keep a food journal.

I know, this seems like a big pain the butt, and it kind of is, at least initially. But, it’s incredibly effective, too. In fact, it’s one of the most effective ways to achieve and maintain a healthy weight. If you’re a techno-file, there are all kinds of apps for your Driod, iPhone, or whatever PDA you’ve got.

So, why does this work? Because if you’re not doing it, you have no idea what you’re actually eating; and, believe me,  it adds up. A food journal is one way to be accountable. Your choices are there, in black-and-white, staring you in the face.  It helps you realize that you didn’t just eat one cookie, you ate one cookie at dinner, one as a snack, some sugar and that CoffeeMate hazelnut creamer in your coffee, just a taste of that birthday cake at the office, that Starbucks’ Double Mocha (skinny, of course) on the way into the office… And, suddenly you’re aware of the several hundred calories a day many of us get and never know it. It’s harder to rationalize just “one small slice” when you have to write it down next to all the other “small” things.

You can count calories in your journal, if you want to. I recommend it as a starting point for at least the first two or three weeks. Once you figure out how much you’re eating, it’s up to you whether ton continue with the calorie counting or just adjusting your eating habits as necessary. But, don’t stop keeping the journal. I recommend also jotting down a quick bit about your daily activities (exercise, etc.), and mood.

Even if you’re not trying to lose weight, a food journal can help you stay on track with healthy eating and exercise.  A food journal, in combination with your mood and exercise blurbs, can motivate you to get out and get active, to change up your activities, to make healthier eating choices, and to be aware of how what you eat and what you do affects how you feel. It’s an incredibly useful lifestyle tool all around.

I keep mine on Fitday.com. You can keep yours in hard copy on paper, on your PDA, or online. Whatever works best for you, and makes it the easiest for you to maintain.

Related Articles

• 7 Reasons Why Keeping a Food Journal Helps (dirjournal.com)
• Is your coffee creamer silently killing you? (nutrition.suite101.com)
• How Many Calories Are In That Coffee? (newyork.cbslocal.com)
• Tracking What I Eat (DanielOdio.com)
• Michael A. Snyder, M.D.: Healthy Eating: 10 Tips to Help You Eat Smarter (huffingtonpost.com)