April 18, 2019 at 02:00PM by CWC If you had to give an award to “World’s Sexiest Nutrient,” I’m not sure what would win, but it probably wouldn’t be fiber. Especially soluble fiber. But TBH that’s pretty unfair of us. Fiber offers your body a ton of health benefits (reduced risk of chronic disease, boosted metabolism, reduced inflammation, and better heart and gut health), and unlike protein, you’re probably not eating enough of it. There are two types of fiber: insoluble and soluble. Insoluble is pretty much the roughage from fruits and veggies that sweeps out your insides and bulks up your stools for regular BMs. On the other hand, “soluble fiber gets its name because it is soluble in water,” says Marjorie Nolan Cohn, RDN, founder and owner of MNC Nutrition, LLC in Philadelphia and spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. Basically, soluble fiber absorbs water, swells, and creates a gel-like substance during digestion, Nolan Cohn says. That keeps BMs moving, but it also has another power: to keep your heart healthy. “Along with water, the gel-like structure can also absorb fatty acids, so it has an added benefit of reducing cholesterol,” she says. Soluble fiber is also useful in slowing digestion, something that helps regulate blood sugar levels, says Nolan Cohn. A stable release of glucose into your blood helps prevent blood sugar dips and spikes that trigger hunger and mess with the hormones that play a role in appetite control. Finally, like all fiber, soluble
Category: Keto
Make room for 18 healthy foods you should always buy at Costco
April 16, 2019 at 04:00PM by CWC Costco is an amusement park for adults. Sky-high shelves stacked with anything and everything you could ever want in life—to call it magical would be an understatement. The food section in particular is where I like to spend my time pushing around that oversized shopping cart, but you can shop online for plenty of healthy foods at Cosco. Unlike a typical grocery store, Costco allows you to get everything in bulk. Many of the products are organic and non-GMO and countless options focus on specific dietary needs, with products catered to those who are gluten-free, vegan, and low-carb and keto. This includes huge cases of spaghetti squash, bags of cauliflower rice almost too heavy to carry, and avocados that last twice as long. Costco also has essentials on hand for a fraction of the cost. Instead of spending $40 on a tiny container of high-quality Japanese matcha for your lattes, you can get a bag quadruple the size. Make room in the pantry for huge containers of kosher ground turmeric or organic plant-based protein powders loaded. If you want to go on a shopping spree without even having to leave your home, you’re in luck. These are some of the best food deals you can score right this second. Healthy food finds to shop at Costco Buy Now Kirkland Signature Organic Almond Beverage, 6-count $8.99 Buy Now Quaker Oats Old Fashioned Oatmeal, 2-count $9.49 Buy Now Kirkland Signature Organic Quinoa, 4.5 lbs $9.99
This is how to order at Chipotle like a registered dietician
April 16, 2019 at 10:35AM by CWC Your friends may have opposing views on yoga versus HIIT or beach versus mountains. But everyone agrees that Chipotle is delicious. It’s also a blessedly safe haven for all types of eaters, from Paleo and keto to vegan and vegetarian. Even nutritionists and dietitians love Chipotle. But what’s the best Chipotle order when you want to make your meal as healthy as possible? Tracy Lockwood Beckerman, RD, gives the fast food chain her seal of approval in the latest episode of You Versus Food, while also breaking down what makes a healthy order and what doesn’t. She has a simple formula to keep in mind when crafting your meal. “Your starting point should be either a bowl or salad,” Beckerman says, saying that tortilla chips and taco shells are loaded with sodium and devoid of nutrients. After you figure out your base, choose a protein. Beans and chicken are the best choices, according to the registered dietician, but she recommends halving the portion as to not get too much protein. As for rice? As long as you aren’t keto, go for it. “[Brown rice] has less sodium than white rice,” notes Beckerman. The best Chipotle order, according to a registered dietician. [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fAZGWNZ5G2A] Last, top off your meal with lots of vegetables to make it both more nutrient dense and filling. Oh, and as for the battle between salsa versus guac? Beckerman says guacamole is a better choice since the healthy fats aid
The plant-*forward* approach is here to help you eat more veggies—here’s how to do it
April 15, 2019 at 10:17AM by CWC Meet Wellness Collective, our new, immersive curriculum with Athleta that hooks you up with actionable advice from the smartest experts and brand founders in wellness right now. Get the goods at our monthly event series in New York City plus our online one-month wellness plans. Here, Mia Rigden, RD, founder of RASA, shares her four-week guide to a plant-forward diet. If all the noise around keto versus paleo versus Mediterranean has made you totally tune out, we have good news: In 2019, Mia Rigden, RD, just wants you to eat more vegetables. “I’m not dogmatic when it comes to food,” she says. “I prefer to stay away from prescriptive diets and restrictive eating patterns, but I do think we could all benefit from eating more plants.” That mission has helped her land on a specific turn of phrase: plant-forward, rather than plant-based. The difference is subtle, but in the holistic chef’s experience it’s a distinction that makes it easier to follow. “Plant-forward doesn’t mean being vegetarian or vegan, it just means eating an abundance and diversity of fruits and vegetables,” she explains. So simple it’s genius, right? We thought so too, so we asked Rigden to share her four-week plan for putting you on the plant-forward track for good. Keep reading for 4 weeks of plant-forward tips to help you up your veggie intake, straight from a nutritionist. Build momentum for the rest of the month (the remaining weeks will feel easy if you
Why long-term success on keto can be challenging for women, according to hormonal experts
April 12, 2019 at 04:00PM by CWC Hormonal naturopathic doctor and The Hormone Boost author Natasha Turner, ND, listened intensely as a female patient sat across from her, lamenting on her struggles with maintaining a healthy weight. “I’ve been doing keto for months and at first, the weight was falling off me so easily. But now I’m gaining it back. I have no idea what happened!” Dr. Turner recalls the woman saying. Dr. Turner wasn’t surprised. Ever since the ketogenic diet exploded in popularity, she’s been fielding complaints like this on a regular basis, primarily from her female patients. “I’m seeing a consistent trend of women adopting the ketogenic diet and the majority of them do not lose weight,” she says. She says she’s seen lots of patients who end up gaining unwanted weight, losing muscle, and developing signs of adrenal fatigue while on the buzzy eating plan. This isn’t just something “keto haters” are warning about. A study published last year in the journal Diabetes (and recently presented at a conference) points to this potential downside, too. When researchers looked at how the ketogenic diet affected male and female mice, they found that while the male mice in the study lost weight, female mice ended up gaining weight. They also developed impaired glucose intolerance, a sign of prediabetes. Of course, mice are very different from humans—so these findings don’t automatically mean that the ketogenic diet will mess with all women’s blood sugar levels and weight. But hormonal experts like
Finding healthy food at Disney World is easier than wishing on a star with this handy guide
April 12, 2019 at 06:00AM by CWC There are few places people are more passionate about than Disney World. Dubbed “the happiest place on Earth,” the resort has upbeat music playing everywhere, is void of sarcasm and negativity, and there are fairytale characters walking around like it’s NBD. Every year, over 40 million people flock there for family vacays, weddings, and honeymoons. People who love Disney World really love Disney World. But between racing around trying to get a selfie with Mickey, waiting in line for Space Mountain, and completely losing it at the Haunted Mansion, a girl’s gotta eat. “Disney World is very good at making the whole experience magical and happy, including the eating,” says registered dietitian Lindsey Joe, RD. “They’ve done a wonderful job over these last several years in terms of accommodating more and more food allergies and food preferences, so there are plenty of options for people.” While you won’t find this online, Joe says that every restaurant at Disney World—including fast casual restaurants, not just sit-down places—have pamphlets with a grid of the most common food allergens—including gluten, eggs, dairy, peanuts, tree nuts, seafood, and soy—while highlighting options eaters with these restrictions *can* order. “If you tell the waiter about your dietary needs, they will really work with you,” she says. Of course it helps to be prepared, too—which is where this handy guide comes in. Joe helped us compile a list of healthy meal options at Disney World for people who are vegan,
Your TL;DR guide to the buzziest healthy eating plans out there
April 11, 2019 at 08:33AM by CWC It seems like every day there’s a new diet popping up in the wellness scene (Pegan? Okinawa diet? Ketotarian?) that’s supposed to be the end-all, be-all of healthy eating—making easy to get confused and downright frustrated when you just can’t figure out what you’re “supposed” to be eating. Here’s the thing: There’s no one “right” way to eat well (despite what Instagram influencers might have you believe). “With every diet, there’s no one size fits all—everything is individual,” says Brigitte Zeitlin, MPH, RD, CDN, an NYC-based registered dietitian. “If you’re doing something that works for you and it feels long-term, that’s what matters.” So whether you’re a Keto enthusiast or a Med diet lover, as long as your health is in check, you’re good to go. Of course, that makes sifting through all of the many (many) eating plans out there a bit more complicated. We spoke with Zeitlin to give you an at-a-glance version of some of the best healthy diets out there (only the legit ones, none of this “military diet” nonsense), including insight as to which health needs they’re best suited for. Snack on this for future reference. 1. Mediterranean Diet [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iGnyqti9wsw] Best for: People who want something easy to follow Overview: The Mediterranean diet is a mostly non-restrictive eating plan primarily focused on plant-based foods, says Zeitlin. (And it was rated the healthiest diet of 2019 by U.S. News and World Report.) The protein typically comes from fish,
This black pepper-turmeric ghee gives any savory dish anti-inflammatory powers
April 11, 2019 at 03:00AM by CWC Photo: Conari Press It’s 2019 and if you still haven’t heard about turmeric, I just don’t even know what to tell you. The spice is beloved for its anti-inflammatory benefits, making it a mainstay of traditional Indian cooking as well as more modern products like golden milk lattes and even turmeric supplements. It’s such a powerful ingredient that The Herbal Kitchen author Kami McBride says she incorporates it into her dishes as much as she can. “I always say, ‘You need a carminative at every meal,’” she says. (Carminative = something that increases blood and oxygen flow to the digestive system, and ahem, relieves gas.) “Digesting lunch uses more energy than we realize, and finding creative ways to add carminative herbs and spices to food is one of the best health hacks out there,” she says. One way McBride does just that is with her black pepper and turmeric ghee recipe. McBride’s recipe is simple: just ghee, powdered turmeric, black pepper, and powdered bay leaf. “Turmeric, pepper, and bay are powerful digestive-supporting carminative herbs,” she says. And pairing black pepper and turmeric makes the anti-inflammatory effects of the turmeric stronger. She also says the bay leaf tempers the intensity of the pepper. “Together, they create a trinity of flavor that’s perfect for slathering on roasted vegetables and drizzling on hummus and dips,” she says. McBride says she’s long used healthy fats like olive oil and ghee as mediums to get her fill of
All the ways to keep up with Well+Good
April 08, 2019 at 08:36AM by CWC The world looked a little different when Well+Good launched nine years ago. Boutique fitness had yet to take off, the ketogenic diet wasn’t trendy, and you definitely wouldn’t have thought to order an oat milk latte at your local coffee shop. But things keep changing for the better. Once a scrappy blog, Well+Good has grown into a full-fledged media company named one of the most innovative by Fast Company. While wellandgood.com will always be the hub for everything under the wellness umbrella, from fitness advice to nutrition tips to mental health info, it’s not the only way to connect with us. These are all the ways to keep up with Well+Good: Flipboard Check us out on Flipboard, where articles on personal wellness journeys, life-changing wellness hacks, and beauty trends go viral. The Well+Good Cookbook Well+Good’s very first cookbook is available now for pre-order. Inside this gorgeous hardcover (if we do say so ourselves) are recipes from the top people in the industry, including our co-founders, celebrities like Lea Michele and Venus Williams, and top experts such as Drew Ramsey, MD. Instagram You may already be following us on Instagram, but did you know we have a handle devoted to all things healthy food (@wellandgoodeats) and one just for travel (@wellandgoodtravels). If you’re looking for good food and good destinations, the search is over. View this post on Instagram Want to dial up your plant-lady life? Score a @tulahouse plant to take home, make
9 Mediterranean diet benefits that explain why experts love it so much
April 04, 2019 at 04:50AM by CWC [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iGnyqti9wsw] The ketogenic diet may have been the buzziest eating plan in 2018, but is it the healthiest overall? According to U.S. News and World Report, the tried-and-true Mediterranean diet rises to take the top honor. A panel of health experts examined and ranked 41 popular eating plans, concluding that the Mediterranean diet is the most universally beneficial for long-term health. Further down the list, U.S. News named the DASH diet as the second healthiest, with WW (formerly known as Weight Watchers) as fourth, vegetarian as 11th, vegan as 20th, Paleo as 33rd, and Whole30 and keto tied for 38th. What makes the Mediterranean diet so beloved by MDs and nutrition experts? Registered dietitian Lauren Slayton, RD, points to the fact that it emphasizes the consumption of foods high in omega-3s and healthy fats, like fish, olive oil, nuts, grains, legumes, fruits, and veggies. “[Olive oil] has tremendous cardiovascular benefits,” she says. Meanwhile, you’re eating a lot less red meat—although it’s still permitted on occasion. It’s generally pretty easy for people to follow, Slayton says (and allows for small amounts of red wine). “Diet trends come and go, but the Mediterranean diet’s encouragement of eating a variety of foods in moderation is pretty aligned with the advice I like to give my clients.” —Tracy Lockwood Beckerman, RD “The Mediterranean diet isn’t a specific set of rules and restrictions, making it way easier to adopt than other trendy eating plans,” says Tracy Lockwood Beckerman, RD, in