Sandi Kaplan, MS, RD, Associate Director, Clinical Development and Support:   The organic food debate was back in the news this week when a study carried out by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine was released. The review study was commissioned by The Food Standards Agency (FSA) to discover whether Britain's organic industry could claim more health benefits for its products. Although the study concluded that there was no important nutritional difference between orga... [More]

Cindy Cernohous, B2B Marketing Manager:   I am a new a parent, the mother to a 6-month-old little boy. When I read this, it hit me between the eyes. The article begins, “You would never give a child a cigarette. Or a drink, or a snort of cocaine. But every day we American parents are giving our children something almost as addictive—meals laden with sugar, salt and fat. That mac n’cheese we all think is the only thing our child will eat is priming them for a lifetime of ... [More]

Sandi Kaplan, Associate Director, Clinical Development and Support:     A new nutritional term caught my eye as it hit the headlines last week – an ‘Eco-Atkins’ diet. This is what researchers are calling a diet which was tested in a small, four week randomized controlled clinical trial. Half of the participants were put on the ‘Eco-Atkins’ high-protein, low carbohydrate and entirely vegan diet which excluded all animal products. The other half were put on a high-carbohydrate, low-fat, veg... [More]

Tiffany M. Reiss, Ph.D., Contributing Writer:    We have all heard the grim statistics. We have seen the brightly colored maps that demonstrate quite effectively the trends in the prevalence of overweight and obesity over the past 30+ years in the United States. Currently, the Centers for Disease Control reports that over 66% of US adults are overweight or obese based on Body Mass Index standards (BMI). Recently there has been a great deal of press that points out that our pets’ w... [More]

Jennifer Lovejoy, PhD, Vice President, Clinical Development and Support:   The new flu outbreak has everyone concerned, but besides washing your hands a lot, the best way to stay healthy is to make sure your immune system is strong.  It’s well known that lifestyle choices have a big effect on immunity, so now is a good time to re-evaluate your current habits. There are 3 key areas to look at: 1) Nutrition – If you are eating the Standard American Diet (“SAD”) full of whi... [More]

Liane Claassen, Quit Coach III, Service Delivery:   The office hours at Free & Clear are from 5:00am- midnight PST, seven days a week. Yep, we’re indeed that dedicated, because offering professional services to those interested in improving their lives is what we choose to do for a living. Now, does that schedule have an impact on our own way of living? You bet! The job of a Free & Clear coach is very detail-oriented; it requires lots of concentration and emotional energy. We need... [More]

Beth Shepard, MS, Exercise Physiologist, Contributing Writer:   My husband is obsessed with organic gardening. With the addition of a greenhouse this year, not only should we have an abundant crop of tomatoes this summer, but we hope to eat fresh lettuce and carrots well into the winter. Gardening is a popular pastime these days. According to a recent article in the Los Angeles Times, people all over the U.S. are rediscovering the joys and benefits of gardening. Victory gard... [More]

Carol Frieberg, Health Educator, Weight Management:   It was Hippocrates who first said, “Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food.”  By now, most of us accept the fact that what we eat affects our health.  But did you know that roughly 70 percent of all diseases affecting Americans are diet-related?  It makes sense, then, that we educate ourselves about the health benefits of the foods we eat everyday.  Below is a list of 10 healthy foods with excellent health “protective” ben... [More]

Jennifer Lovejoy, PhD, Executive Director, Weight and Nutrition Services:   Whether you are watching your waistline or trying to improve your overall health, many of us think about upgrading our eating habits at this time of year.  But as you are trying to cut your fat intake or watch the sugary carbs, be careful you don’t get fooled by false perceptions of how healthy a food is. Recently, the New York Times reported on research findings from a French marketing professor and a Cor... [More]

Jennifer Lovejoy, PhD, Executive Director, Weight and Nutrition Services:   With daily reports about the economic crisis and other urgent national issues grabbing our attention, the fact that our national nutrition crisis can make headlines is noteworthy. The current obesity epidemic is one symptom of the national nutrition crisis.  Research has implicated the environment we live in as a major predictor of obesity and poor health.  Factors like the availability of neighborhood sid... [More]