Heather Moore's blog

A recent study published by the Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior gave 6 tips for eating out while following a weight gain prevention program.  The study suggests asking for half of your meal to be boxed up to go immediately and check the calorie counts of the restaurant online before you dine.  Also, budget your calories--if you know you are eating out for dinner, have a light lunch.  Pay attention to what you're eating and enjoy the experince.  Avoid "unloved" calories--skip the food you feel neutral about.  And always order dressings, sauces and gravy on the side so you control the amount on your food.  You can use these tips to help you stay on course while dieting.

Winter is the time of year for SAD, or seasonal affective disorder.  Feeling blue around Christmas isn't just a song!  About 5% of Americans suffer from SAD with another 10-20% experiencing a milder form each year.  You can't prevent it but you can manage it better.  Read about SAD here.

An estimated 100,000 older Americans are hospitalized for adverse drug reactions each year.  A new study from the CDC found that most of these emergencies come from four types of medication.  Two are blood thinning agents and two are diabetes related medication.  Read all about the study and how to reduce risks while taking these meds here.

A new study shows we spend less time reading nutrition information on labels than we think we do.  And where the info is located on the label plays a big part too.  Read all about the study here. 

     Chocolate may cut women's stroke risk, a new Swedish study says.  Read about the study here. 

     Researchers at Harvard have added yet another health benefit to drinking coffee, if you're a women.  In a study of 50,000 women, those who drank two to three cups of caffeinated coffee per day were 15% less likely to develop depression than those who drank one cup of coffee or less per week.  Read all about the research study here.

     As if you needed another reason but a recent study shows you can improve your memory by quitting smoking.  We've all heard the health benefits to giving up cigarettes but this study also shows how stopping smoking can benefit your cognitive function as well. 

     Sack lunches are a staple of school life but it seems we aren't keeping them cold enough.  A new study in the journal Pediatrics found unsafe food temperatures in a majority of the packed-at-home lunches tested.  What's a mom to do?  A well-insulated lunch bag is a good start with cold/ice packs surrounding the perishable food.  Also consider packing more foods that are less-likely to cause food-borne illnesses (such as trail mix, applesauce cups and whole grain bread spread with hummus).  And keep the lunch in the refrigerator as long as possible.

     Two new studies out show how diet soda drinkers pack on the pounds via their calorie-free consumption.  If you kick back more than two a day, you could bust your belt size up to five times more than people who avoid diet sodas altogether!  The thought is also that the aspartame (or artificial sweetner) in the diet drink triggers the appetite.  But unlike regular sugar sodas, it does nothing that will squelch the appetite.

     So, sugar-laden sodas are a no-no and now diet sodas are on the outs…what do these researchers say is okay to sip?  Water, of course.

     In my youth, that phrase meant slather on the suntan oil.  Not anymore!!  Now when I “oil up”, I’m adding olive oil to my culinary creations.  And, apparently, that is very good thing for my health as well as my tasty dishes.  A new observational study shows cooking with heart healthy olive oil and using it for salad dressing may cut your stroke risk.  Olive oil is a healthy monounsaturated fat that plays a big part in the Mediterranean diet as do certain nuts, nut oils and avocados.