As college students get ready to leave for school, it seems approprite to discuss how to survive at college on a special diet.

In general, the college environment is quite an adjustment and when you add special dietary needs, it makes it even more challenging. One of the most important things to do is to contact the dining services at your school to inform them of your dietary needs and ask them to help you navigate their food selections. Since so many people have special dietary needs, dining services are used to tailoring their menus accordingly. The more advanced notice they have the better it is for everybody. Posting the ingredients and nutritional information of food in the dining halls and highlighting any common allergens would be extremely helpful. Most, if not all college campuses have a nutritionist that can help educate you about your special dietary needs and provide resources to assist you with making the right food choices. They also can work with dining services to ensure you are eating a well-balanced diet.

If you live off campus and do not take advantage of the dining services, it is important to really learn how to read nutrition labels and look for certain keywords to avoid when you are grocery shopping. When dining out, remember to tell your server all of your special dietary needs before ordering your meal.

It is essential to educate yourself about your dietary needs, including which foods contain ingredients you should avoid and which foods are safe. Special dietary needs are one of our specialties and we would love to tailor a plan or program just-for-you. Please feel visit us at www.personalwebnutrition.com to learn more about our online nutrition services.

In the healthy food world, Quinoa (pronounced either KEEN-wah or KEE-no-uh) stands in a class by itself. Originally from South America, this plant has always been a dietary staple. Although quinoa is usually considered a grain, it is actually more closely related to leafy green vegetables, such as spinach. It is one of the world’s healthiest foods. Quinoa is high in protein and is considered a complete amino acid (containing all essential amino acids). It is a great source of dietary fiber and magnesium. Some other wonderful attributes associated with quinoa are: it is a low-glycemic food, alkaline forming, gluten free, suitable for vegetarians, contains iron, can be used in a number of food preparations (cereal, pasta alternative and breading). Quinoa has become quite mainstream so if you have yet to try this wonderful super healthy food, you should try and incorporate it into your diet.

Please contact us at info@personalwebnutrition.com for more information on other super healthy foods.

New York City is the first city to implement a new law which forces chain restaurants to post the calorie count of each food in the same size and font as the price. It seems New Yorkers are experiencing quite the sticker shock! Starbucks, Dunkin’ Donuts and T.G.I. Friday’s were the first chains to implement the new law. Starting Friday, the city will start fining restaurants anywhere from $200 to $2000 for violating this new law. For more details please visit http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25464987/.

Cholesterol Drugs for Kids Could Reduce Heart Attacks in Adulthood

ARTICLE: Kids should get screened for cholesterol — and some as young as 8 should get cholesterol-lowering drugs. Those are the recommendations from the American Academy of Pediatrics, which today published a new set of guidelines on lipid screening (online here).

The guidelines point out that atherosclerosis — the hardening of the arteries that leads to heart disease — begins in childhood. And, they note, more than 10% of kids have total cholesterol levels over 200 mg/dL, which is “a level of concern in adults.”

For the many kids with high cholesterol who are overweight, shedding pounds should be the first course of action. Switching to reduced-fat milk after overweight kids hit 1 is also a good idea. A low-fat diet makes sense for all kids older than 2.

Kids with very high bad cholesterol, or LDL — 190 without other risk factors; 160, if other risk factors are present; 130 in kids with diabetes — should also change their diet to eat fewer saturated fats. If that doesn’t work, cholesterol lowering drugs such as statins may be appropriate.

“If we are more aggressive about this in childhood, I think we can have an impact on what happens later in life … and avoid some of these heart attacks and strokes in adulthood,” Stephen Daniels told the AP.

Daniels, a Colorado pediatrician who was one of the authors of the guidelines, has consulted for Abbott and Merck, but not on matters involving their cholesterol drugs, the AP said.

MY OPINION: In today’s Wall Street Journal there is an article about a doctors group that now recommends cholesterol drugs for kids. The doctors group is recommending that some children as young as 8 years old be given cholesterol fighting drugs to ward off future heart problems. Treatment would generally be targeted for kids at least 8 years old who have too much LDL “bad” cholesterol, along with other risky conditions, including obesity and high blood pressure.

Whatever happened to taking a look at our diet, lifestyle and other contributing factors to health issues? In my opinion, there is something very wrong with recommending cholesterol lowering medication to children. All drugs have side effects! Maybe we should educate ourselves on the foods we are consuming. Is it really necessary to have hydrogenated oils, high fructose corn syrup, food dyes, saturated fats and other unhealthy ingredients in our food? It is scary when we start accepting drugs to control common health problems such as high cholesterol and high blood pressure. Please think about all of your options before making a drastic decision for you or your child!

For more information on healthy ways to lower your cholesterol please contact us at info@personalwebnutrition.com today.

As a nutritional consultant I have many responsibilities to my clients. One of them is researching new products. When I recommend a product it is because I genuinely like it and believe in the company and the ingredients used in their products. Yesterday I had the pleasure of spending the entire day taste testing my way through the 54th annual fancy food show. What a treat (pun intended)!

Now for the good stuff, my favorite products:

• Frosteas by Wise acre, inc. I tried their cool your jets herbal frozen treat. Extremely refreshing and not overly sweet because it is only sweetened with honey.
• Joseph Banks cassava chips. Their chips are a wonderful snack. They are a great substitute for potato chips and provide more fiber. I tried the sea salt chips. A little greasy but quite an interesting taste.
• Wholesome Sweeteners (makers of agave nectar) have a new product out called organic zero. Although I tried it by itself, it seems like a great new product for those of us that do not wish to use artificial sweeteners.
• NutraBella belly bars. These bars are extremely tasty and meant for women before, during and after pregnancy. A terrific concept and their products are packed with key prenatal nutrients. Nutrabella also makes convenient sized chews and shakes.
• Saratoga Peanut Butter Company. I LOVE natural peanut butter and was so excited to try Saratoga’s products. While they have many unique flavors available I only tasted the chillin chocolate. WOW! Delicious and not too sweet because they do not add sugar and use dark chocolate. Did I mention they are gluten and dairy free?
• Metromint waters. While this company has been around for awhile they have launched some new flavors to their water. My favorite hands down is the chocolate mint (that’s right, chocolate flavored water. They use no sweeteners, preservatives or calories. Calorie free dessert!
• Organic Nectars gelato and granita. Anyone that is interested in a nutritious substitute to ice cream read on. Their products are free of dairy, eggs, refined sugar, soy, wheat, gluten GMOs! I have enjoyed the gelato before but never tried the granita. The ginger granita was refreshing, especially on a warm summer day! And their products are sweetened with agave nectar (low glycemic and suitable for people watching their sugars)
• Pamela’s products, wheat and gluten free foods. An oldie but still a goodie. Delicious cookies and baking mixes!
• Cherry Brook Kitchenhas a new line of mini gluten free cookies – LOVED both the chocolate chip and snicker-doodle cookie.
• Raw Revolution had a new gluten free and vegan chocolate chip cookie dough bar that was quite enjoyable.
• Aunt Gussie’s now has gluten free and even gluten and sugar free cookies.
• Sensible portions. Besides their attention grabbing name, this company makes wonderful chips. Their multi-grain chip line is even gluten and dairy free. Kudos to sensible portions. I only tasted the apple cinnamon soy crisps, which of course were delicious.
• Corazonas snacks. This company makes a unique chip. Sounds impossible, but it does. Their tortilla chips are heart-healthy because they contain whole oats and plant sterols, clinically proven to help lower cholesterol levels. I tried the margarita lime chip and it was extremely enjoyable and healthy for my heart!

While there were several other products and companies I loved, I did not want to bore you with my day of eating (I mean working)! All in all, it was quite an enjoyable day of non-stop grazing! Please feel free to contact me at info@personalwebnutrition for more information on different products at the show.