13 Ways To Stop Drinking Soda For Good

By Amanda MacMillan

You know soda's not exactly good for you -- but at the same time, it can be hard to resist. Its sweet taste, pleasant fizz and energizing jolt often seems like just what you need to wash down your dinner, get you through an afternoon slump or quench your thirst at the movies.

But the more soda you consume (regular or diet), the more hazardous your habit can become. And whether you're a six-pack-a-day drinker or an occasional soft-drink sipper, cutting back can likely have benefits for your weight and your overall health.

The biggest risk for regular soda drinkers is the excess calories, says Lona Sandon, RD, assistant professor of clinical nutrition at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. "The calories in regular soda are coming entirely from added sugar, and you're not getting any value in terms of vitamins or minerals, or even good quality carbohydrates," she says.

But soda may also be causing other types of harm. Studies have shown that its consumption is linked with tooth decay and diabetes, and it also seems to be bad for your bones. "It may have something to do with the phosphorus in soda, or it could be that people are drinking soda instead of other beverages -- like milk -- that have nutrients necessary for healthy bones," Sandon says.

Sugar-free sodas may not have any calories, but that doesn't mean they're any good for you. In fact, they may not even help you lose weight. (Research on this topic has been mixed, at best, but several studies have shown that diet soda drinkers are more likely to be overweight or obese than regular soda drinkers.)

Plus, diet drinks have many of the same health risks as regular soft drinks, including tooth decay and bone thinning, and they've also been linked to heart disease and depression in women. Switching to diet sodas may be a smart first step if you're trying to eliminate excess calories, says Sandon, but your best bet is to eventually give them up, too.

Here's how to make the transition easier.

Wean yourself off slowly.

That news may be enough to convince you that you should stop drinking soda, but it could still be easier said than done. "People really can become addicted to soda, so you have to be a realist and not an idealist," says nutritionist Stefanie Sacks, author of the forthcoming book What the Fork Are You Eating?. "I don't recommend going cold turkey; you need to wean yourself off, just like you would anything you've become dependent on."

If you typically drink multiple servings of soda a day, Sacks suggests first cutting back to one a day. Give that two weeks, then switch to three sodas a week. "It gives you a chance to adjust gradually, which should lead to real, sustainable change," says Sacks.

Mix it with water.

Sandon also recommends weaning yourself slowly off soda, and sometimes suggests that her clients start drinking half-soda, half-water. "You're automatically drinking less and hydrating and filling up with water, which is a good thing," she says.

But there's an added advantage, as well: "It cuts back on the sweetness you get from soda, which is one of the things people get really used to. If you're drinking less sugar, your taste buds will change and soon you won't need that sweetness anymore."

Start tracking your calories.

If you're blindly throwing back colas without stopping to think of their impact on your waistline, you could be in for a rude awakening: Each 12-ounce can of Coke, for example, contains 140 calories, while a 20-ounce bottle has 240. (In comparison, here are some smarter snacks for just 200 calories -- with filling protein and fiber, to boot.)

Downloading a calorie-tracking app may help you realize just how much those beverages can affect your daily calorie consumption -- as long as you actually log in and record each serving. Instead of pouring yourself refill after refill, start paying attention to how much you're actually drinking; once you do, you may be more willing to cut back.

Do the exercise math.

Another way to quantify the calories you're drinking is by thinking about how much exercise it would take to burn them off. In a 2014 Johns Hopkins University study, researchers placed signs in corner stores stating that a 20-ounce bottle of soda would take 5 miles of walking or 50 minutes of jogging to burn off.

These "advertisements" worked: When teenager customers saw these signs, they were more likely to buy a smaller soda, a water, or no drink at all. "When you explain calories in an easily understandable way such as how many miles of walking needed to burn them off, you can encourage behavior change,” said the study authors.

Switch to unsweetened tea.

Need that jolt of caffeine to wake up in the morning? If you're not a coffee drinker, Sandon suggests sipping on unsweetened iced tea instead. "It can be just as refreshing, and there are real health benefits to drinking the phytochemicals in tea," she says.

If you don't like the taste of plain tea, mix in some lemon, mint, or a small amount of sugar or artificial sweetener -- at least during your transition-from-soda phase. The important thing is that you're aware of, and in charge of, exactly what's going into your drink and how much is added.

Drink a glass of water first.

Whenever the urge to drink a soda hits, fill up a big glass of ice water and finish that first. "A lot of times, people drink soda just because they're bored, or they're thirsty, and that's what's available or that's what they're used to," says Sacks.

If you're still craving a soda after you've downed your H2O, then you can reconsider whether it's really worth it -- but chances are your thirst will be quenched and you'll feel satisfied from just the water. (You can make this work while you're out and about, too, by always carrying a bottle of water with you.)

Treat yourself to natural brands.

When Sacks has successfully weaned her clients down to just a few sodas a week, she often recommends they switch to a brand with fewer artificial ingredients. "They're more expensive, but you'll be drinking them less often," she says. Sacks likes Grown Up Soda, Santa Cruz Organics and Blue Sky because they don't contain high-fructose corn syrup or artificial ingredients, and generally contain less sugar than the big brands. "They're an overall healthier choice, especially if you're only drinking them occasionally."

Give seltzer a try.

If it's carbonation you crave, try drinking plain or flavored seltzer water, suggests Sacks. You can buy seltzer by the bottle, or make your own at home with a SodaStream machine.

"Toss a little fruit juice in there for flavor, and eventually change that juice to fresh-squeezed citrus," says Sacks. "That way you still get the bubbles that you love in soda, but you're in control of how much sweetness and sugar is added."

Class up your water.

Even still water (or non-bubbly) can be made more palatable with the addition of some fruit or natural flavors. "People tell me they don't like water, but often they just need to experiment with new ways to drink it," says Sandon.

She recommends adding lemon, orange or cucumber slices to a pitcher of water in your refrigerator, which can serve as a detour when you go hunting for a cold soda. Frozen berries and fresh mint can also be tasty additions to a cold glass of H2O.

Buy caffeine-free.

If you drink a lot of soda and you're not quite ready to give it up, try buying caffeine-free versions instead. You may start drinking less without even realizing it, suggests a 2015 study published in the British Journal of Nutrition. In the study, participants were split into two groups and all told to drink as much soda as they'd like for the next 28 days. (One group got regular, one group got caffeine-free.) Even though there was no noticeable taste difference between the two, the caffeinated group drank 53 percent more over the next month -- about 5 ounces a day. When our bodies get used to regular caffeine, we crave more of it, say the study authors, prompting us to drink more.

Steer clear of soda triggers.

You may notice that you only drink soda in certain places or situations: In the afternoon at the office, for example, or when you eat at a certain restaurant. You may not be able to completely avoid these scenarios -- you've still got to go to work and should still enjoy eating out -- but you may be able to change those bad habits.

If it's the office vending machine that tempts you to buy a soda every day, try to stay away from it in the afternoon -- and pack your own healthy beverage or a refillable water bottle so you have an alternative. Or if you tend to crave soda with a certain type of food, try restaurants that offer other options instead.

Try it for two weeks.

Weaning yourself off something gradually works best for most people, says Sacks, but some may want to try the cold turkey approach. If you plan to go that route, think of it as a temporary change: Giving soda up for two weeks or a month may be easier and more manageable than ditching it forever.

The best part about this trick? Once your time is up, you may not even want to go back to soda -- at least not at the frequency you drank it before. "We acquire a taste for sugar depending on how much we have on a daily basis," says Sandon. "If you cut out soda for a while, you may be surprised at how sweet it tastes ones you go back." (Want extra help with the cold-turkey method? Enlist friends to take the challenge with you.)

Save it for special occasions.

Once you're able to break your regular soda habit and the drink loses its grip on you, it can be treated just like any other junk food: If you really love the taste, there's nothing wrong with an occasional indulgence, says Sacks. "If it's your gotta-have-it food, then by all means splurge on a soda now and then," she says. In fact, knowing that you can have a soda on your cheat day or during a special night out may help you resist them on a more regular basis. "Just do it from a place of education: If you understand that soda is essentially just sugar and artificial flavorings, then you can be more smart about when or if you're going to drink it."

Courtesy of:  http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/03/05/how-to-stop-drinking-soda_n_6802700.html?utm_hp_ref=diet-and-nutrition

Grilled Veggie Towers with Mozzarella

Skinnytaste.com
Servings: 6 • Size: 1 tower
Calories: 194 • Fat: 11 g • Carb: 17 g • Fiber: 4 g • Protein: 9 g • Sugar: 4 g
Sodium: 234 mg  • Cholesterol: 22 mg

Ingredients:

• 1 small eggplant, about 9 oz
• 1 large red onion, sliced into 6 slices
• 1 large (10 oz) zucchini
• 1 large (10 oz) yellow squash
• 3 red bell peppers
• 6 oz fresh mozzarella cheese - cut into 1 oz thin slices
• 4 large basil leaves plus 1 leaf chiffonade for garnish (optional)

For the Balsamic Marinade:

• 1/4 cup white balsamic vinegar
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
• 1 tbsp honey
• 1/2 tsp oregano
• 4 basil leaves
• 1/4 tsp kosher coarse salt
• 1/4 tsp ground black pepper

Directions:

Wash and cut ends off vegetables. Cut the eggplant and red onion into 6 slices.  Cut the zucchini and squash into 1/2-inch thick slices on the bias (diagonally). Cut the red pepper in half and remove innards. Cut in half once again.

Place all ingredients of marinade into blender or place them into a container and use emulsion blender until all ingredients are blended until smooth.

Combine the vegetables and marinade in a deep bowl or large plastic bag. Allow to sit for at least 1 to 2 hours.

Remove vegetables from marinade with tongs and place vegetables directly on grill. Discard excess marinade. Place the red peppers, skins down, on the grill first since they will need the longest cooking time (about 6 minutes on each side, or until the skin is slightly charred.) Grill the additional vegetables 4 to 5 minutes, until browned and soft, remove from grill and set aside.

Using a small tin begin to create your tower of vegetables. Begin with the largest vegetable at the bottom. That will most likely be the eggplant, then the onion, red pepper, zucchini, and then the squash. Place a piece of basil in between any of the vegetables. Top the tower with the slice of mozzarella cheese, place back on grill and cover grill so the cheese melts, about 1 to 2 minutes. Garnish with basil if desired.

Nature Walks May Help Reduce Stress and Depression

This is not one of those counterintuitive, huh-that-doesn't-make-sense studies: New research in the journal Ecopsychology suggests that group nature walks may be an effective means of cheering people up and reducing their stress levels.

The University of Michigan press release accompanying the study explains that researchers "evaluated 1,991 participants from the Walking for Health program in England, which helps facilitate nearly 3,000 weekly walks and draws more than 70,000 regular walkers a year."

Here's what they found:

People who had recently experienced stressful life events like a serious illness, death of a loved one, marital separation or unemployment especially saw a mood boost after outdoor group walks.

“We hear people say they feel better after a walk or going outside but there haven’t been many studies of this large size to support the conclusion that these behaviors actually improve your mental health and well-being,” says senior author Sara Warber, M.D., associate professor of family medicine at the U-M Medical School and member of the Institute for Healthcare Policy and Innovation.

Given that exercise and social interaction are both natural mood-boosters, it shouldn't come as a shock that combining the two is effective as well. But this is still a useful reminder that how we plan our cities can have psychological consequences (when you live in megasprawl, it's not easy to get to nature), and that while severe depression or anxiety can't simply be walked away, there are basic everyday things that most people can do to feel a little bit happier.

Courtesy of:  http://nymag.com/scienceofus/2014/09/nature-walks-as-antidepressants.html?mid=huffpost_lifestyle-pubexchange_article

Salmon Quinoa Burgers

Skinnytaste.com

Servings: 5 • Size: 1 pattie 

Calories: 183 • Fat: 5 g • Carb: 11 g • Fiber: 1 g • Protein: 21 g • Sugar: 0 g

Sodium: 327 mg (without salt)  • Cholest: 105 mg

Salmon Burgers with Salad:

Servings: 5 • Size: 1 burger with salad 

Calories: 277 • Fat: 13 g • Carb: 17 g • Fiber: 2 g • Protein: 23 g • Sugar: 5 g

Sodium: 338 mg (without salt)  • Cholest: 105 mg

Ingredients:

• 16 oz wild salmon fillet, skin removed
• 1 tsp olive oil
• 1/3 cup diced shallots
• 1 cup kale, chopped
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 3/4 cup cooked quinoa
• 2 tbsp Dijon mustard
• 1/2 tsp Old Bay
• 1 large egg, beaten

For the salad:

• 2 1/2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 1/2 tbsp champagne vinegar
• 2 tbsp minced shallots
• 1 1/ 4 tsp dijon mustard
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 10 loose cups baby arugula
• 1 large pink grapefruit, peeled and diced

Directions:

In a small bowl, whisk the olive oil, vinegar, shallots, dijon, salt and pepper.

Cut about a 4 oz piece off or the salmon and place in a food processor or chopper to finely chop. This will help hold the burgers together.  With a knife finely chop the remaining salmon, transfer to a large work bowl.

Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium heat, add the oil and saute shallots and kale. Season with salt and pepper and cook over medium heat until wilted and tender, about 4 to 5 minutes.

Transfer to the bowl with salmon along with quinoa, Dijon, Old Bay and egg. Mix to combine, then form into 5 patties, about 1/2 cup each. 

Lightly heat a nonstick grill pan or skillet over medium heat, when hot spray with oil and add the salmon patties. Cook the 4 to 5 minutes, then gently turn and cook an additional 4 to 5 minutes, or until cooked through.

Toss the dressing with the arugula and grapefruit; divide on four plates. Top each salad with a salmon burger.

How Many Steps a Day Should You Really Walk?

By Jesse Singal

If you pluck someone off the street, whether in New York or Wichita or Seattle or Sacramento, and ask them how many steps people should aim for per day in order to get enough physical activity, they'll probably tell you 10,000. In an age in which pedometers are cheaper, more accurate, and more feature-rich than ever, this number has taken on almost mythical proportions -- a lofty-sounding goal (in reality, it's approximately five miles, and a reasonably active person can pull it off fairly easily) that separates the active-lifestyle haves from the slothful have-nots.

But is there any medical reason to embrace this number? Not really. That's because the 10,000-steps-a-day recommendation has nothing to do with sedentary, fast-food-drenched circa-2015 America. Rather, the recommendation first popped up in a very different food and environment: 1960s Japan.

"It basically started around the Tokyo Olympics" in 1964, said Catrine Tudor-Locke, a professor who studies walking behavior at LSU's Pennington Biomedical Center. "A company over there created a man-po-kei, a pedometer. And man stands for '10,000,' po stands for 'step,' and kei stands for 'meter' or 'gauge.'" Ten thousand, it turns out, "is a very auspicious number" in Japanese culture, said Theodore Bestor, a Harvard researcher of Japanese society and culture, in an email. "That is, it seems likely to me that the 10,000 steps goal was subsidiary to having a good-sounding name for marketing purposes." Whatever the reason for the adoption of this particular number, "It resonated with people at the time, and they went man-po-kei-ing all over the place," said Tudor-Locke.

The problem, which barely needs stating, is that circa-1964 Japan was markedly different from the circa-2015 U.S. "By all accounts, life in Japan in the 1960s was less calorie rich, less animal fat, and much less bound up in cars," said Bestor. Data from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations shows that the average per-capita food supply for Japanese people in 1964 was 2,632 calories, while the average for Americans in 2011 was 3,639. That's a difference of about 1,000 calories -- or, if you're keeping track, about 20,000 steps for an average-size person. (Jean Buzby of the USDA said in an email that food supply is a commonly used rough proxy for food consumption.)

These sorts of numbers all vary hugely, of course, depending on region, social demographics, and a variety of other factors. But the point is no one can argue that Japanese people in the 1960s lived in the same sort of nutritional environment as Americans in 2015.

More broadly, 10,000 steps is just a bit too simplistic a figure, say nutrition researchers. All the ones I spoke to agreed that there's nothing wrong with shooting for 10,000 steps, per se, and that on paper, walking (or doing any physical activity) more is better than walking less. But Tudor-Locke said that, "The one-size-fits-all [approach] doesn't necessarily work."

Her work focuses on the most sedentary slice of the population (a rather big slice slice in the U.S.), and there, it can be a challenge to get people to take 5,000 steps, let alone 10,000. But moving from 2,500 steps a day, say, to 5,000, is a small but important victory for people who don't get any exercise, and can have important health ramifications. "We know that you get the biggest bang for your buck by just moving from a sedentary state up a little bit," she said. "Your biggest bang comes from rolling off the couch and being active." A big European study published in January that looked at the mortality rates for people with different activities levels, in fact, found that "a markedly reduced hazard was observed between those categorized as inactive and those categorized as moderately inactive" -- a 20 to 30 percent reduction.

People in these categories, who at the moment are getting almost no exercise, aren't going to benefit from the 10,000 steps recommendation. In fact, it might deter them from exercising, said Tudor-Locke. "For people who are very inactive or chronically ill or whatever have you, that might be a huge jump for them," she said, "and that might be intimidating for them." If the 10,000 steps goal has this effect, "then it loses its purpose." From a public-health perspective, she said, a more pressing, realistic goal is "to get people away from taking less than 5,000" steps a day.

In a country where people eat really, really poorly, there's also a chance that fixating on the 10,000-step milestone will lead people to neglect other, potentially important factors like their diet. "Focusing exclusively on how many steps you're getting and neglecting those other aspects isn't going to lead to an overall improvement in health, unless you're addressing those other factors simultaneously," said Jeff Goldsmith, a biostatistics professor at Columbia's Mailman School of Public Health.

In other words: Yeah, 10,000 steps is great, but if you follow up those 10,000 steps by buying a 500-calorie hamburger -- and, more generally, spend the rest of your day eating junk -- you can still gain weight and face all sorts of unpleasant negative health outcomes. "What we know from the scientific evidence is that diet and physical activity are relatively separate domains," said Dr. Eric Rimm of the Harvard School of Public Health. "There are people who are overweight and eat poorly and still exercise, and on the other hand, there are people who eat really well but sit on the couch." An overly narrow focus on 10,000 doesn't encourage an integrated approach to getting healthier.

Finally, 10,000 steps might "be too low for children," said Jean Philippe-Walhin, an exercise researcher at the University of Bath -- and kids these days, as you're probably already aware, aren't doing so hot on the obesity front.

So while 10,000 steps is fun and easy to remember and a catchy marketing tool in (at least) two languages, maybe it's time, given just how unhealthy so many people are and how much they'd benefit from moving around just a little more, to embrace an incremental-improvement approach to exercise. But even if the science of nutrition and exercise is complicated, that doesn't mean the take-home message needs to be. "Stand rather than sit, walk rather than stand, jog rather than walk, and run rather than jog," wrote Ulf Ekelund, lead author of the European mortality study, in an email. Tudor-Locke distilled things even further: "Just move more than before," she said. "Keep moving more than before."

Courtesy of:  http://www.huffingtonpost.com/science-of-us/10000-steps-walk-day_b_7604514.html

Slow Cooker French Dip Sandwiches with Caramelized Onions

Adapted From: The Recipe Girl Cookbook
Servings: varies • Size: 1 sandwich (see below)
Calories: 308 • Fat: 9 g • Carb: 31 g • Fiber: 1 g • Protein: 29 g • Sugar: 1 g
Sodium: 620 mg  • Cholest: 40 mg

Ingredients:

For The Beef:

• 3 to 4 lb lean beef round roast, trimmed
1 tbsp minced garlic, minced
• 1 tbsp fresh rosemary (or 1 tsp dry)
1 tbsp fresh thyme (or 1 tsp dry)
1 tsp kosher salt
• 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
2 to 3 (14.5 oz) cans Swanson's low-sodium beef broth

• 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
• 10 whole peppercorns
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/2 large onion, cut into chunks

For the Caramelized Onions (makes about 1 cup):

• 
1/2 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 3 large onions, thinly sliced
• 1/2 tsp Kosher salt

For the Peppers (makes about 2 cups):

• 1 large red bell pepper, cored, seeded and sliced into strips
• 
1 large green bell pepper, cored, seeded and sliced into strips

For the Sandwich:

• 
Sargento Reduced Fat Provolone or Mozzarella Slices 

• whole wheat baguette or rolls, cut into 2 oz pieces



Directions:



In a small bowl mix garlic, rosemary, thyme, salt and pepper. Rub the spice mixture onto all sides of the roast, then place in the slow cooker.

Pour the broth into the side of the roast until it just cover the meat. If the broth doesn't cover the roast you can add water and top with onions. Add the Worcestershire sauce, peppercorns and bay leaf to the broth. Cover and cook on low until the meat flakes apart easily with a fork, about 9 to 12 hours, depending on the size of your roast.

An hour before the meat is done, prepare the onions and peppers. In a large nonstick skillet heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onions and salt and cook until golden, stirring often, reducing heat as needed if the onions are burning or browning too quickly, about 30 to 35 minutes. Add 1 tbsp to the pan if it becomes too dry. The onions should turn golden and the flavor should be sweet. Transfer to a serving bowl, then add the peppers to the skillet and cook stirring often until soft, 8 to 10 minutes.

Remove the meat from the slow cooker to a cutting board and shred with a fork or slice with a knife. Strain the broth through a fine sieve then place in a gravy separator to remove any fat. Pour 1/4 cup broth into each small ramekin.

Preheat the oven to broil. Split the bread open and top with 2 ounces of beef. Top with onions, peppers and cheese and broil until the cheese melts. Place on a plate with broth for dipping.

Nutrition based on: 2 oz whole wheat baguette, 2 oz cooked beef round, 1/4 cup beef broth, 1 slice cheese, onions & peppers.

Fewer People Are Sensitive To Gluten Than Commonly Believed

By Julie Upton for U.S. News

It seems as if everyone is going to great lengths to avoid gluten, a protein found in wheat, barley, rye and many processed foods. Are there real health benefits associated with going gluten-free, or is it just another passing fad?

A recently published study in the journal Digestion found that 86 percent of individuals who believed they were gluten sensitive could tolerate it. Individuals with celiac disease, a hereditary autoimmune condition that affects about 3 million Americans, or roughly 1 percent of the population, must avoid gluten. Those with extremely rare wheat allergies must also remove gluten from their diet. In addition, those with gluten sensitivity, a condition that affects 6 percent of the population (18 million individuals), should also avoid gluten.

That doesn't explain why an estimated 30 percent of shoppers are choosing "gluten-free" options, and 41 percent of U.S. adults believe "gluten-free" foods are beneficial for everyone, especially when many of those foods are often lower in nutrients and higher in sugars, sodium and fat than their gluten-free counterparts. And much of the growth in the category is coming from cookies, crackers, snack bars and chips.

Thanks in part to a lot of hype from gluten-free evangelists and celebrity wheat-bashing, many Americans are convinced they're "gluten-sensitive" and better off avoiding foods that contain it. "People want to believe that they are gluten intolerant because it's a way for them to avoid carbs, because they also think carbs make them fat," explains registered dietitian Vandana Sheth, a spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.

To find out how many people are truly gluten-sensitive, researchers from the University of L'Aquila in Italy enrolled 392 patients who believed they had gluten sensitivity into a controlled clinical trial. All of the subjects were instructed to eat gluten-containing foods for two months before their initial diagnostic tests (blood tests and endoscopies, among others) to determine if they had celiac disease or a wheat allergy. All patients then followed a gluten-free diet for six months. After the six-month period, those who did not test positive for celiac or wheat allergies were instructed to reintroduce gluten-containing foods and they were monitored for symptoms associated with gluten sensitivity.

Results? Of the 392 patients, 6.63 percent tested positive for celiac disease, and two individuals (.51 percent) for wheat allergy. Some 27 patients (6.88 percent) were found to suffer form non-celiac gluten sensitivity. Based on this, 86 percent of those who believe they're sensitive to gluten can tolerate it without negative health consequences. And, when you account for those who had celiac or wheat allergy, some 93 percent of individuals who believe they are gluten-sensitive can tolerate it.

Bottom line: Like celiac disease and wheat allergies, gluten sensitivity is not as prevalent as many believe. What's more, eating a gluten-free diet isn't necessarily healthier, nor is it recommended for weight loss – and it could lead to weight gain.

"Many gluten-free products are higher in calories, fat, sodium and sugar because they need to enhance the flavor and texture to make up for the lack of gluten," explains registered dietitian Marina Chaparro, a spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. For most of us, a diet rich in veggies, fruit, whole grains, lean proteins and healthy fats, eaten in the appropriate portions, is the best way to achieve a healthy weight and reduce risk for chronic diseases.

Think You're Sensitive to Gluten? Think Again originally appeared on U.S. News & World Report.  Courtesy of:  http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/06/21/gluten-sensitivity_n_7594804.html