SUGAR SHOCK! Blog

Dr. Mehmet Oz Speaks With Online Journalists

Dr. Mehmet Oz, in an effort to drum up support for "New Year, New You" episodes on The Dr. Oz Show, is on the phone now with a number of us online journalists.

Shows in early January will help Americans after they come back from the holidays, because this is, as he put it, "a teachable time in their lives."

"The most novel thing that we focus on is that you will fail [on your diet]," Dr. Oz points out.  "The question is how you'll deal with the failure."

When you drive and go the wrong way, your GPS calmly tells you how to get back on track, Dr. Oz continues, implying that Dr. Oz can serve as viewers' medical GPS.

In the "New Year, New You" shows, Dr. Oz says, "we give you tools to cheat and tips to get you back on track."

"We are flawed," he observes. "We celebrate Americans where we are and [help  you] get over emotional burdens."

I was thrilled to have the opportunity to ask Dr. Oz a question, and I jumped in to ask the first question. I wanted to know about his daily routine.  Many of you have been wondering how he looks so good and has so much energy. Here's what he said:

• He wakes up at 5:45 a.m.
• Next comes a seven-minute yoga stretch.
• Then he has breakfast when he get to work. He advises eating within the first hour of waking and having a high-fiber, high-protein breakfast. 
• Next, he recommends making sure that you begin [your work or everything] on time. "If you're late, you're out of control," he points out.
• Finally, Dr. Oz goes to sleep "religiously" by 10:30 at night. "That's an easily achievable goal [for] Americans" in the new year.

Stay tuned for other updates, because he's still answering questions and I'm writing this up quickly.

Quick confession from Connie: This is embarrassing, but somehow my computer just lost a bunch of notes from this interview conference call!

So I won't be able to get you any more updates. (Guess that's what I get from still not feeling up to snuff, with being sick and all.)

But Dr. Oz did have some valuable information to impart about the values of sleep and fish oil and tips to get you through the holiday season. One recommendation for the latter had to do with always keeping one hand free when at parties and not drinking one alcoholic drink after another.

You can catch Dr. Oz's pearls of wisdom every day on The Dr. Oz Show. To learn when the show airs in your area, go here.

Agave: What's the Scoop About this Sweetener?

One of the most frequently asked questions I get is about agave, the honey-colored liquid that's popular with many health-minded people.

Inevitably, the subject of agave comes up whenever I lecture or take on a new client.

Generally, these health-minded people have heard wonderful things about agave, especially that it's low on the glycemic index.

You, too, as a health-minded person -- I assume you are since you're reading this blog -- may want to know:

• Is agave safe?
• Can I use agave as a sugar substitute?

For those of you who are fans of agave, my short answer is this: I don't recommend it.

Learn more about agave here.

Heartfelt Holiday Gifts

Wow! What a wonderful Gab With the Gurus Radio Show we had about Heartfelt Holiday Gifts!

Five charming, dazzling guests just appeared on the show to offer you suggestions for Heartfelt Holiday Gifts.

1) On this Heartfelt Holiday Gifts show on BlogTalkRadio.com -- which you can listen to at any time (see below) --  you'll hear from Randi Luckman, founder of HealthGifts.com. Randi, who I met while attending the Institute for Integrative Nutrition (IIN), tells you about ... drum roll here... The Sweeter Life Gift Basket that we've developed for you.

This Sweeter Gift Basket will contain such things as ginger tea, bath salt, a relaxation CD, cinnamon, aromatherapy oil, some organic almonds, fish oil, powdered stevia and body oil.

Please note that the basket shown (above left) is Randi's Stress Buster package. Stay tuned, because you'll soon get more details and have a chance to see a photo of our new Sweeter Life Gift Basket, which will be available in standard delicious and deluxe packages. 

2) In addition, on this Heartfelt Holiday Gifts show, you'll also get inspirational, heartwarming suggestions and thought-provoking thoughts about gift-giving from the "Queen of Gift Giving" Robyn Spizman,  founder of TheGiftionary.com and author of The Giftionary: An A-Z Reference Guide for Solving Your Gift-Giving Dilemmas . . . Forever! .

TheGiftionary.com has thousands of ideas that can help you to show your loved ones you care by offering Gifts That Give Back.

3) Meanwhile, Debra Berndt, creative-visualization guru and love-mind expert Debra Berndt -- author of the upcoming book Let Love In -- tells you about two life-changing products that she's steeply discounting just for you.

You can get her soothing Complete Relaxation Set (9 MP3s) and Weight Loss Hypnosis Set (4 MP3s). You'll be shocked when you learn how the low price at which she's offering them to you.

To get your special discount, all you need to do is type in the code "sweet" to get the special discount.)

To get a flavor for Debra's amazing talents at relaxing you, check out our free, soothing holiday gift. That's right -- you get a free download from our Relieve Holiday Stress program which we held last week.

We're offering this present to you as our way of wishing you a happy, healthy, calm holiday. You can listen to your audio download now, through the end of the month.

To get there quickly and easily, just go to

Please feel free to spread the word, too, to your friends around the world about this free holiday gift. Just  send them to: http://tinyurl.com/RelieveHolidayStress.

When you've listened to our free holiday gift, pleae let us know what you think.

4) You'll also hear from Arielle Fierman, who creates amazing jewelry, especially the I Love Me rings shown above).

Again, just give her the code "sweet" to get your discount only available to readers of the Sugar Shock Blog, listeners of the Gab With the Gurus Radio Show and fans and followers of all of guests appearing on this show.  

5) On this Heartfelt Holiday Gifts show, you'll get ideas for inexpensive healthy gifts that you can cook from Terry Walters, author of the wonderful, award-winning book, CLEAN FOOD: A Seasonal Guide to Eating Close to the Source With More Than 200 Recipes for a Healthy and Sustainable You.

Terry will even tell you how you can cook edible, healthy gifts on a budget.

For further information, I encourage you to visit all of our guests' websites.  (If you buy something from them, you're invited to mention how you heard about them -- through this Sugar Shock Blog, the Gab With the Gurus Radio Show or one of the guests on the show today.) Please check out their beautiful sites, which contain wonderful, heartfelt, high-quality products.

• HealthGifts.com (Randi Luckman)
• TheGiftionary.com (Robyn Spizman), also VoiceQuilt.com, GiveApp.com and BabyBop.com
• Terry's Kitchen (CLEAN FOOD)
• BeWellWithArielle.com (Arielle Fierman)
• Complete Relaxation Set and Weight Loss Hypnosis Set (4 MP3s) (Debra Berndt)
  

On the Heartfelt Holiday Gifts show, I also mentioned four of my favorite books, which would make great gifts, in my humble opinion.

I also highly recommend:

The fabulous books, The Art of Extreme Self-Care and Take Time for Your Life from life coach and bestselling author Cheryl Richardson. I cannot rave enough about these books, which will help you to take back your life and become a master at treating yourself well.

Clean Plates N.Y.C. from Jared Koch and Alex Van Buren. Every health-minded New Yorker will enjoy having this handy little book, which is a guide to the healthiest, tastiest restaurants in Manhattan. (And it's small enough to fit in your handbag or briefcase.)

SUGAR SHOCK!, which, admittedly, is my book. By giving this to a friend or loved one, you're saying that you care about them and their health and you'd like to help them to live sweeter lives. In the book, which involved my interviewing hundreds of health experts  and connecting with thousands of sugar addicts worldwide, you get educated about the dangers of sugars and refined carbs. In addition, you get many simple, useful tips to help you to break free of your harmful habit. In SUGAR SHOCK!, I strove to take a gentle, compassionate approach, and my intention is to serve as your friendly, compassionate, sugar-free guide, who holds you by the hand to help you become more healthy, happy and centered.

Now that you have a number of ideas for Heartfelt Gifts, let me also help you breeze through the holidays with poise, dignity and peace of mind.

Read my 7 Tips to Relieve Holiday Stress story on my Huffington Post blog.

FYI, please note that the last live Gab With the Gurus Radio Show of 2009 will take place next Tuesday (Dec. 15) at 2 pm EST, when you'll learn how to Love Your Body, Love Your Life with Sarah Maria, a body image expert.

Later in the month, you'll also have a chance to listen to replays of two favorite show from 2009. 

Listen to the Heartfelt Holiday Giving show now.

7 Tips to Relieve Holiday Stress

While 'tis the season to be merry, for many of us, it's also a season for stress, anxiety and angst, which leads us to behave in ways we're sure to regret later. During this time of year, people often resort to bad habits--they may cave into sugar cravings, go for the booze and overdose on caffeine.

In part, that's because, during the holidays, people tend to experience heightened emotions. You may feel overcome by loneliness, become annoyed by meddling relatives or lose patience with your loved ones. And in the present economy, you also may be worried about how you'll be able to pay for good gifts without maxing out your credit cards.

In fact, the American Psychological Association (APA) found that nearly half of all women in the United States experience heightened stress during the holidays, which puts their health at risk. The APA also found that during this time, 41 percent of women use food and 28 percent use alcohol.

Unless you lean on effective relaxation and self-love techniques, as well as positive self-talk, all your worries may trigger overeating or binging, overloading on alcohol, arguments with your loved ones, skipping regular exercise, not getting enough sleep and neglecting your needs.

Of course, we all that devouring a bag of cookies, guzzling booze, venting to a loved one or spending too much money on holiday presents are not smart ways to sooth your holiday stress.

To help you have a happy, relaxing season, I'm come up with 7 Tips to Help You Relieve Holiday Stress.

Visit my blog at either the Huffington Post or Psychology Today  to get these 7 Tips to Relieve Holiday Stress.

Remember, tonight is a free Relieve Holiday Stress program. Sign up below.

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3 Tips to Prevent Overeating on Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is often the holiday that ushers in overeating during the holiday season. But you don’t have to become an overeater.

Here are 3 tips to keep you from all that stuffing, candied yams, apple pie, mashed potatoes and more.

1 – Cheer up another guest.

This year, at your holiday celebration, one of the best ways to quit obsessing about sweets is to do something for someone else. So find a guest or two on whom to focus. First ask your relative or loved one or friend what’s going on in her or his life. Listen carefully. Then offer support, encouragement, validation and understanding. Give warmth, compassion and love, too. As your heart opens up, you’ll fill yourself with good feelings rather than food.

2 – Practice gratitude.

Much has been said about the value of being grateful year round—and even on a daily basis. Naturally, Thanksgiving is a time to be especially jubilant and grateful for all that you have. What better way to quit overeating than to use saying thanks to stop your pigging-out behavior? What you’ll do is this: Rather than just say grace before the meal, each time you take a bite of candied yams, turkey, stuffing, etc., you’ll thank the Lord (or whoever you thank) for at least 3 things. Just think: Every time you put something in your mouth, you have to say thanks for 3 things. That takes time, right? In other words, delving deeply into gratitude like this can help you to slow down and thereby help you keep from overeating.

2 – Plan something fun after your feast.

Before the Thanksgiving meal begins, get members of your family or friends to agree to do something fun afterward. Decide whether you’ll take a walk in the neighborhood, play a game of cards or soccer or sing karaoke in the living room to your favorite tunes. Just find some activity that appeals to most of the guests. By getting excited about festivities after your meal, you’ll place less emphasis on eating all that pie and potato, etc. and, I predict, be less interested in overeating.

Did these tips help you? Do you have any others? Share them with us here.

Get more tips to not overeat on Thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving Marks a "High Risk" Time to Become Overweight

For many, Thanksgiving is the start of overeating unhealthy foods and packing on the pounds.

Thanksgiving marks the beginning of a “high risk” time for the overweight, according to Holly Hull, Ph.D., lead researcher of a study, "The Effect of the Thanksgiving Holiday on Weight Gain.

“I think the number of people who only overeat at the Thanksgiving meal is slim to none,” Dr. Hull told New York Times reporter/Well blogger Tara Parker-Pope.

“The holiday season doesn’t represent one day of overeating. You have this period that extends through the new year where there’s more alcohol, more snacks, more finger foods and appetizers that are energy dense,” she pointed out to Parker-Pope.

Rest assured, though, you  don't need to gain weight, whether it's 1, 5 or 7 pounds. Get 3 Tips to Prevent Overeating on Thanksgiving now.

Get more tips how not to pig out on Thanksgiving.

Conquer Your Sugar Addiction With Me, Starting Jan. 5, at the New York Open Center

Since the new year is coming soon, if you live near New York City, I invite you to plan now to break free of your sugar habit so that you may be able to:

• Lose weight
• Finally make peace with sugar and refined carbs
• Feel free
• Get more energy on a consistent basis
• Become more productive 
• Walk your talk by consuming only healthy foods and drinks
• Tap into your spirtuality
• Be unfazed when desserts and sweet snacks abound
• Feel exhilarated and excited about your many projects
• Relish moving your body in a way you've never done
• Enjoy more enriching, satisfying relationships
• Boost your libido
• Learn to meditate away your sugar desires
• And much more

Reserve your space now for Tuesday, Jan. 5 at 6 pm when you can get inspired and educated during my free introductory class at the New York Open Center.

Now, sign up for the four-week course at the New York Open Center from Jan. 12 to Feb. 2.

Let me know if you've signed up for this program, because I have special gifts for people who've enrolled to help you get through the holiday season.

Facebook: Disabled & Waiting

A week ago tomorrow (or was it today?), my Connie Bennett Facebook account was disabled. Not only that, but my Smart Habits Fans public page has been disabled, too.

So if you're wondering why I've been mum, that's why.

You can learn about my awful "abuse" here. As best as I can guess, I was "Too Friendly Too Fast."

I've been patiently awaiting responses to repeated emails to disabled@facebook.com and other addresses.

Suffice it to say that I'm getting frustrated and discouraged.

Hope to be on soon to connect with you again.

Got Milk Full of Sugar?

Parents and health advocates, are you OK with either your kids or our nation's children regularly having 3 teaspoons of sugar added to one 8-ounce glass of milk?

Well, that's basically what our youngsters all around the nation are being encouraged to do, starting this week as the National Dairy Council -- creators of the "Got Milk? cammpaign -- launches a new campaign to heavily promote sugar-filled chocolate milk in schools across the country.

Hemi Weingarten, a fellow blogger at the Huffington Post, alerted us to this development.

All that added sugar -- over 3 teaspoons worth -- has rightfully raised the ire of health advocates, points out AP writer Emily Fredrix

In fact, experts like Marlene Schwartz, Ph.D., deputy directory of the Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity at Yale University, recommends tossing the chocolate milk. I agree with what she told Fredix -- that kids already have too much sugar and chocolate milk has no place in schools.

Clearly, children already are in sugar shock with all the sweets they consume each year.

In fact, the additional sugar in flavored milk can add up to an extra 5 pounds of body weight over the course of a school year, Renegade Lunch Lady Ann Cooper told the AP. 

What's the matter with regular milk? You don't need to make milk sweet to get kids to drink it!

Health Tip of the Week: Take Timed Breaths to Stop Cravings

This week, we will begin a new feature, "Health Tip of the Week."

Specifically, today's pointer is to help those of you who tend to battle but often cave into overpowering cravings -- for sugar, coffee, cigarettes or other unhealthy behavior. 

This tip will help you if you:

• Are a sugar addict
• Are overweight or obese
• Have type 2 diabetes
• Have an annoying habit of consuming refined carbohydrates
• Are going through sugar detox
• Need or desire to stay away from high fructose corn syrup-filled candies and pastries
• Want to get more healthy (just about everyone!)

So let's pretend you're in the throes of a yen for chocolate-covered peanuts, donuts or a sugary coffee from one of those specialty stores.

Or perhaps you're near a bakery, vending machines or newspaper stand that sells candy bars. 

Here's how to quickly stop that craving so you don't go into unpleasant sugar shock:

• Take a look at your watch or your cell phone to get the time. (If you have neither, ask someone else.)
• Next, whatever time it is, then take that number of breaths -- but do so slowly, deliberately and confidently. 
• Example: So, it's now 9 am. That means you'd slowly take 9 breaths in and 9 breaths out. 
• At the same time, visualize your breath just wiping out your craving. Expect that it's happening! Now watch the cravings go whoosh!
• After breathing, if you're still tempted, simply repeat the whole procedure another 9 times.(In other words, if it were 5 pm, you'd take 5 breaths, and if you're having a hard time, you'd repeat this another 5 times.)

Simple isn't it? Now make sure that while you're breathing, you're also visualizing the cravings being wiped out.

This tip is called the Timed-Breath, Stop-Cravings, Wipe-Out Technique.

Did you like this stop sugar shock pointer? Got any ideas of your own that you'd like to share? Let us know so we can pass it on.

Get SUGAR SHOCK! now to learn why it's important to cut back on your consumption of sugars and refined carbs.

Connecting: How to Win Friends, Clients & More -- Learn on Nov. 10

Join us Tuesday, November 10 at 2 pm EST when marketing consultant Maribeth Kuzmeski, appears as my guest on the Gab With the Gurus Radio Show.

Maribeth, author of The Connectors: How the World's Most Successful Businesspeople Build Relationships and Win Clients for Life, will tell you about the power of connecting with others to achieve dramatic results.

Learn more or listen on the Gab With the Gurus Blog.

Remember, as always, you can listen live or later to my radio shows.

Facebook Disabled My Account: Too Friendly too Fast?

Facebook has disabled both my account, www.Facebook.com/ConnieBennett, and my public page, www.Facebook.com/SmartHabitsFans.

(Although I can't post to the latter fan page, I believe you can still join and post comments to previous posts.)

Suffice it to say that I was quite disappointed upon being told:

Your account has been disabled by an administrator. If you have any questions or concerns, you can visit our FAQ page here.

I finally discovered the error of my ways -- my "violation" after carefully reviewing Facebook's Warnings.

I also absorbed such helpful blog posts as "13 Reasons Your Facebook Acount Will be Disabled" from Thor Muller of Get Satisfaction and "Facebook Account Deactivation -- Can It Be Avoided" from Facebook guru Mari Smith.

Apparently, my offense was this: I wrote too quickly to people who'd requested to be my friends before accepting them. At the same time, I did what thought was a smart time-saving move -- I simply cut and pasted innocuous messages such as "Wow! Lots of friends in common. Look forward to your posts."

To put on my playful attitude (you have to in a case like this!), a fun way to describe my Facebook violation is this: I was too friendly too fast for Facebook! That, combined with cutting and pasting messages, was interpreted as being potentially "annoying or abusive."

As best as I can guess, Facebook erroneously assumed that I was a spamming machine instead of a health-oriented, flesh-and-blood lady, who often encourages people to get on the social networking site, which had 250 million followers as of July 15, 2009, according to CEO/founder Mark Zuckerberg.

Facebook, I've now learned, limits the number of times a user can send the same message or make the same post. (I've learned my lesson! So much for saving time!)

Clearly, Facebook needs to set limits to protect users from spam, but unfortunately in its zeal to do so, many of us innocents are wrongly tossed out of the site. If you're on Facebook, I would strongly advise reading all of Rights & Responsibilities so you don't suffer similarly. Anyhow, I hope to be back on Facebook soon to connect with you, but in the meantime, here's what I discovered about the unsettling experience of being booted off the social networking place to be.

Every day, about 6,000 people are banned for a variety of reasons, according a site that helps people, whose accounts have been disabled. (The Facebook Disabled site is not affiliated with Facebook.)

Although I can't vouch for these figures (trying to reach a Facebook rep to ask questions for a story), if you get on Google to do a search for "Facebook account disabled," you turn up a whopping 38,100,000 hits (as of today).

Among those who've been disabled are the renowned Internet marketers/social media gurus/authors Robert Scoble (to your left here) and Guy Kawasaki (above left), as well as actress Lindsay Lohan, who vented about her mistaken identity on MySpace.

You also can read about the travails of Jo-Anne Vandermeulen, author of Conquer All Obstacles, and artist Alyson B. Stanfield, author of I'd Rather Be in the Studio, as well as reporter Craig Daitch of Advertising Age.

Meanwhile, you can get enlightened by Computer World,  ("Disgruntled Facebook Users Look to Get Disabled Accounts Reactivated"). In addition, you can learn from the articles on TechCrunch "Facebook-Stirring Up Anger for Disabling Accounts") and the Sydney Morning Herald ("Facebook-Giveth, Facebook Taketh Away.")

Moving over to YouTube, you can watch Dark Angel, whose account was shut down twice because he wasn't using his real name, according to Facebook, that is. (He had his name legally changed.) You can even watch a parody from Internet strategist  Erin Blaskie. (See video below.)

Despite my challenges of being disabled, I'm still a huge fan of Facebook, which is why I invite you to still be active on it but be careful. Listen now to my radio show about Facebook with the following experts:

• Jesse Stay, CEO of SocialToo.com and co-author, I'm on Facebook--Now What?; 
• Mari Smith, dubbed the "Pied Piper" of Facebook by FastCompany.com. Also, the writer of the WhyFacebook.com; 
• Greg Atwan, author of The Facebook Book;
• Karel Baloun, author of Inside Facebook: Life, Work and Visions of Greatness;
• Shashi Bellamkonda; social media swami;
• Shama Hyder, founder of Click to Client; and
• Mona Nomura, which readwriteweb.com described as a "big influencer in social media."

Special thanks to Karel (left), a former Facebook engineeer, for being so nice to me since my account was disabled. Greg was also helpful.

Stay tuned for an upcoming Gab With the Gurus Radio Show -- date is being determined -- that will teach you about Facebook's rules and regulations and help you avoid my fate and NOT to be disabled from the site.

But first listen to the fun Facebook radio show with all the experts cited above. Meanwhile, if you're a journalist, here's another great radio show about Facebook with Sree Sreenivasan, Dean of Student Affairs and Columbia University digital media professor.

Now, get entertained by Erin Blaskie's parody, "I was Banned From Facebook -- Game Show Parody."

Speak Out Against Ill-Advised Coke-Doctors Partnership

Please pass this post -- which also appears on the Huffington Post -- to your friends, family members, colleagues and, in particular, your physician friends and contacts.

Recently, the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP)--in a move away from pharmaceutical funding--accepted a "strong six-figure" grant for a new "consumer alliance partnership" with the Coca-Cola Company, the world's largest beverage company, to create content about beverages and sweeteners for its consumer website.www.FamilyDoctor.org.

The academy--which represented 94,614 family physicians, residents and medical students nationwide as of Dec. 2008--should be ashamed of itself for accepting a six-figure sum from a soda company that sells empty-calorie, sweet drinks--usually with fructose--which numerous peer-reviewed medical studies link to obesity, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, strokes and even premature death.

In my opinion, it's a conflict of interest for the AAFP -- whose vision is "to achieve optimal health for everyone" -- to allow Coke to "educate" visitors to its website in how nutrient-lacking, obesity-generating beverages can fit into a "healthy" lifestyle.

Furthermore, it's hard to fathom how www.FamilyDoctor.org can offer "credible information on beverages and enable consumers to make informed decisions," as a Coca-Cola spokesperson now maintains on the AAFP website.

For a doctors' group to take a high six-figure sum from Coke is like accepting hundreds of thousands of dollars from Big Tobacco to create physician-approved website content that claims smoking cigarettes can be part of a healthy lifestyle.

Wolfing Down Your Food Can Trigger Weight Gain

Are you someone who's a fast eater? Well, it's time to slow down, savor your food and take lots of bites. That's advice you can glean from this intriguing new study from the Journal of Clinical Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.

Essentially, eating quickly may trigger weight gain, because it curtails the release of hormones (you need) that help regulate your appetite, which could cause you to overeat, according to the researchers, headed up by Alexander Kokkinos, MD, PhD, of Laiko General Hospital in Athens, Greece.

As MedPage reveals, patients who ate a meal in 30 minutes had higher levels of two peptides that signal satiety -- peptide YY (PYY) and glucagon-like peptide (GLP-1) -- than those who wolfed down their food in five minutes.

In nother words, this study suggests that there's truth to the "old wives' tale" that eating quickly leads to weight gain.

"Our findings give some insight into an aspect of modern-day food overconsumption, namely the fact that many people, pressed by demanding working and living conditions, eat faster and in greater amounts than in the past," Kokkinos says in the news release.

"The warning we were given as children that 'wolfing down your food will make you fat' may in fact have a physiological explanation."

"Most of us have heard that eating fast can lead to food overconsumption and obesity, and in fact some observational studies have supported this notion," Kokkinos says in a news release. "Our study provides a possible explanation for the relationship between speed eating and overeating by showing that the rate at which someone eats may impact the release of gut hormones that signal the brain to stop eating."

Listen to the quick interview with Dr. Kokkinos below.

CLA May Speed Reduce Stubborn Fat Around the Middle

Frequently, clients ask me what they can do to reduce reduce stubborn fat around their mid-section other than quit sugar and refined carbs and regularly exercise.

My friend Jonny Bowden -- one of the most knowledgeable nutritionists in America today -- just wrote a fascinating post on his blog that touts the virtues of CLA (conjugated linoleic acid), noting its effectiveness in losing body fat, especially around the tummy.

While "losing pounds is CLA's most notable claim to fame," Jonny points out, its benefits also have been known to also include "slowing the spread of cancer cells, help stop bone loss in postmenopausal women and interestingly, calming of inflammation linked to asthma and a host of other things."

Jonny writes about CLA, because a study in the prestigious American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that CLA is effective at reducing body mass index (BMI) and total fat tissue without altering lean body mass among obese, postmenopausal women with type 2 diabetes.

The information about CLA is quite intriguing. "In 2005, nearly 300 studies were published on CLA, including studies in which CLA slowed the spread of cancer cells, helped stop bone loss in postmenopausal women, calmed the inflammation of asthma, was linked to lower rates of colon cancer, and boosted immune function," according to Harry Preuss, M.D. of Georgetown University Medical Center professor, co-author of The Natural Fat Loss Pharmacy and president of the Executive Committee of the American College of Nutrition.

Help for the Holidays" 10 Tips to Combat Cravings for Candies, Cookies Or Cakes

Every year, many people become overly attached to candies and cookies, starting on Halloween.

As we know, this holiday season, which kicks off on Halloween and continues through Christmas, Chanukah and other celebrations, can be a challenging time when it comes to eating right.

During this season, which abounds with candy canes, gingerbread men, chocolate geld and other "goodies," you can gain weight, but, if you know what to do, lose weight and even maintain it. 

To help you get control over your consumption of candies, cookies and other sweets, I've put together a guide for you at my new Huffington Post blog.

Get 10 Tips to Combat Your Candy & Cookie Cravings.

Share this beat-your-sugar cravings article with your sugar-loving friends, family members. Please post a comment, too.

And I invite you to become my fan, too.

Halloween Tricks Kids Into Sugar Overload: Op Ed Piece

Are you re planning on passing out sugar-filled candies for Halloween tomorrow night?

If so, you should know that every time you hand out candies, you're tricking kids into sugar overload. 

Halloween isn't just one night. It paves the way for bad eating habits year-round.

Read more about this in our opinion piece in today's Newark Star-Ledger.

Spread the word to your friends, fans and family members.

Make comments. Get heard, too.

Halloween: Prevent Sugar Shock

Halloween can be a harrowing time for both kids and their parents, because on this holiday and the days or even weeks that follow, kids will often face major blood sugar highs and lows after pigging out on dozens of sugar-laden candies. 

In other words, they'll be hurled into sugar shock.

Let's face it, no matter what kind of limits their parents may try to place on their children's candy consumption, youngsters will often overdose on sweets, even if they have to do it in secret.

Unfortunately, that's what Halloween means these days. It's a nationally sanctioned "Sugar Overload Day."

So how can you help your young trick-or-treaters not get wiped out, cranky, depressed, headachy or charged up from having too many candies?

The way to soften the blood-sugar-bouncing whammy and lessen sugar shock is to make sure that your children eat a healthy, well-balanced meal before they cavort around the neighborhood trick-or-treating for candies.

For instance, before they head for the streets, give your children:

• Ample protein (such as a piece of fish or free-range chicken)
• Fiber-filled, quality carbs (like a salad, steamed vegetables, a sweet potato and a small portion of brown rice)
• Smart fats (such as olive oil drizzled on top of your salad and sweet potato)
• Plenty of water (bring bottles with you, too, to keep your kids hydrated)

By powering up with with PFF (Protein, Fiber & Fat), your child may:

• Have more consistent energy
• Feel filled up from the meal so that he or she eats less candies
• Be a lot more fun to be around, because his or her blood sugar is balanced

I cannot stress enough how important this is to make sure that your kids eat right before they go out trick-or-treating.

If your children don't eat a good meal before eating lots of candies, they may go into sugar shock, which means they might:

• Get wired or really tired
• Become argumentative
• Pick fights with their siblings
• Find it tough to stay focused
• Develop a horrific stomach ache
• And more...

Learn about the sugar-overload situation you're facing on Halloween. Just read my short, first entry over at my new blog at the Huffington Post. Please post a comment and become a fan, too.

Halloween Cartoon "Shows" Sugar's Reaction

Special thanks to Mike Adams and NewsTarget.com for this cartoon, which cleverly illustrates the dangers of trick-or-treating for candies on Halloween.

Sure, eating sweets too many sweets won't make you look like a snarling monster, but all that sugar can  harm kids in many ways, including causing them to gain weight, develop type 2 diabetes, and even become more violent, according to a recent study in the British Journal of Psychiatry.

 

Soft Drinks: A Habit at Age 5 Predicts Weight Gain

Parents, if you've think there's nothing wrong with giving your toddlers and young ones a couple of cans of soda and other sweetened beverages a day, you better reconsider.

That's because if five-year-olds drink sweetened beverages, they're more likely to pack on pounds in their teens, according to a new study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

Specifically, researchers from the Center for Childhood Obesity Research at Pennsylvania State University and other institutions found that girls, who, at age five, consumed two or more eight-ounce servings of sweetened beverages such as soft drinks were more likely to have a higher intake and be overweight in the next decade than girls, who drank less during the 10-year period.

Consumption remained stable for those who drank one to two servings a day, the researchers found.

Drinking milk or fruit juice wasn't connected with weight gain, as Food Navigator pointed out.

The researchers pointed out that although the American Academy of Pediatrics has made fruit juice consumption recommendations, the organization hasn't made any regarding sweetened beverage intake.

It's fascinating to me that researchers seem to shy away from the words "soft drinks" and instead use the phrase "sweetened beverages." Of course, you can find numerous other sweetened drinks, too, such as energy drinks, lemonade, fruit punch, etc.

But, let's face it, it doesn't matter what you call them. The message here is that children should stay away from sugary drinks, especially two or more eight-ounce portions.

Of course, we already knew that, but it's always helpful when researchers arrive at conclusions that back up theories.