For The Love of Food

Welcome to Friday’s For The Love of Food, Summer Tomato’s weekly link roundup.

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This week we learn why we shouldn’t trust food labels, how economic woes can improve health, and the tastiest ways to travel without resorting to airplane food.

Want to see all my favorite links? (There’s lots more). Be sure to follow me on on Delicious. I also share links on Twitter @summertomato,  Google+ and the Summer Tomato Facebook page. I’m very active on all these sites and would love to connect with you. (And yes, I took that pepper heart pic myself).

Links of the week

• Jedi Mind Tricks: How to Get Loved Ones to Lose Weight <<This is the most personal story I’ve ever shared about my family’s health and weight loss journey. My dad was one of the lucky ones. I hope it inspires you. Thanks to Tim Ferriss for allowing me to share the extensive excerpt from Foodist with his audience.
  
• The 10 Biggest Food Label Lies <<Food labels are intended to confuse you. Here’s some tips on how to decipher them (including some from me). (Women’s Day)
• A Potential Way to Eat Eggs Without Dying <<BS of the week. Call me crazy, but it seems a bit irresponsible to publicly recommend an unproven supplement to fix a problem with a food that has never been shown to promote heart disease in free living humans. Grrrr. (The Atlantic)
• Betting on Behavior Change <<I’m a big fan of anything that helps build healthy habits. Here’s some great tips from the Nutrition Diva.
• How Cubans’ Health Improved When Their Economy Collapsed <<When the Soviet Union stopped supporting Cuba with cheap petroleum, they were forced to return to the fields, eat more natural foods and be more active. Their rates of disease plummeted, despite their poverty. Fascinating, huh? (The Atlantic)
• Contaminated ground turkey found in 21 states: report <<In case you hadn’t heard, you may want to skip the industrial turkey burgers for awhile. (Medline)
• Children on Track for a Heart Attack <<This makes me so sad. Being a kid is hard enough, now they’re having to deal with grown up problems like stiffening arteries as well. Parents, please take this to heart. (Wall Street Journal)
• Of course you’re stressed. Just look at you. <<Chronic stress makes you look older. Just one more reason to practice mindfulness and other activities that reduce stress. (LA Times)
• RECIPES AND TIPS FOR HEALTHY TRAVEL <<Frequent travel is one of the biggest barriers to good health for some people. Here’s some lovely recipes and tips to avoid the toxic (and gross) airplane food. (My New Roots)
• How to Cook Morels <<Few foods exemplify the beauty of seasonal cooking like morel mushrooms. They’re delightful and simple to prepare, and I’ve even known some self-proclaimed mushroom haters that have found them delicious. (Ruhlman)
• Triangulation 101: Darya Rose <<I made a visit to TWiT studios this week and chatted with Leo Laporte about Foodist. It’s the most info that’s ever been shared about the content of my new book. Give it a watch when you get a chance.

Photo courtesy of Ryan Vance (to make her dance)

Almost every bride I’ve known has put herself on some sort of special eating regimen in preparation for the big day. Though weight loss is often the goal, it is certainly not the only reason both brides and grooms should eat well on their path to the altar.

As a longtime foodist, I was not even remotely concerned about fitting into my dress. It fit beautifully, and I expect it will fit this time next year as well.

My biggest concern leading up to the big day was stress management. I almost never get sick, but with the pressure of a book launch and impending nuptials it has been harder than normal to get a restful night’s sleep. The last thing I wanted was to come down with the flu or some other bug from all the stress and travel.

Over the past couple of months I’ve been more focused than usual on making sure I get enough nutrients, particularly those that fuel immunity and ease stress. I’ve been eating extra greens and fruit (phytonutrients and vitamin C), and drinking more green juice than normal to keep me healthy. I’ve made sure to have plenty of fish each week (omega-3 fatty acids), as well as pastured meats and poultry (B vitamins) to manage stress.

The only foods I’ve been more actively avoiding are sugar and dairy. Sugar exacerbates stress in the body, and dairy (especially the industrial varieties filled with artificial hormones) is notorious for causing acne breakouts. This worked, and I’m thrilled I made it through the ceremony blemish-free.

Just as important, I was extra careful to make sure my workouts continued to be a priority each day. Few things relieve stress and help me sleep as well as exercise, and this daily ritual has helped keep me sane more than anything else.

Despite these efforts, I was under enough stress that my appetite wasn’t its normal, healthy self. I noticed a few weeks before the wedding that I had lost more weight than I was comfortable with, so made an extra effort to eat more regularly and consume enough calories to keep me at my optimal weight. It didn’t take much, and I’m glad I was able to catch this quickly and adjust my behavior accordingly.

Amazingly, just over a week before the wedding I was overcome by a sense of calm. After one of the many inevitable disasters that came up as the wedding approached, I realized that none of the things I was worried about really mattered. The day would come, the guests would arrive, Kevin and I would be there and the wedding would happen. Those were the important things that would happen regardless, and I could choose whether or not I wanted to stress about the details. I decided not to, and it was completely liberating.

Great health and glowing skin are what make any bride or groom look their best on their big day. If you have a wedding coming up eat well, don’t worry, and remember to slow down and take it all in. Everything will be fine, just don’t forget to enjoy it.

How did you stay healthy for your wedding day?

For The Love of Food

Welcome to Friday’s For The Love of Food, Summer Tomato’s weekly link roundup.

This week how the FDA is killing us softly, rats get fat on calorie-free sweeteners, and why coffee is better than 5-Hour Energy.

Want to see all my favorite links? Be sure to follow me on on Delicious. I also share links on Twitter @summertomato,  Google+ and the Summer Tomato Facebook page. I’m very active on all these sites and would love to connect with you. (And yes, I took that pepper heart pic myself).

Links of the week

• The FDA Is Out to Lunch <<The title doesn’t do this article justice. If you’ve ever eaten fruit salad, you need to read this. Did you know more people die from food poisoning every year in the US than were killed in the 9/11 terrorist attacks? And nothing is being done about it. (On Earth)
• 5-hour Energy Stops Deceptive Web Ad <<You didn’t really think this stuff was harmless, did you? But it is probably not the caffeine that’s the problem. (Center for Science in the Public Interest)
• Do artificial sweeteners make rats fat? <<People looking to lose weight often turn to artificial, calorie-free sweeteners, even though they’ve never been shown to be effective for weight loss. In this study, rats gained more eating fake sugar than real sugar, despite eating the same number of calories. (Food Politics)
• The Case for Drinking as Much Coffee as You Like <<A thorough examination of the benefits of coffee. (The Atlantic)
• Mild Vitamin B12 Deficiency Associated With Accelerated Cognitive Decline <<I’ve often argued that there may be more subtle implications of slight nutrient deficiencies. Here’s some data that it may indeed be the case for vitamin B12. (ScienceDaily)
• Less Than 25 Percent of Americans Walk for More Than Ten Minutes Continuously in a Typical Week <<Seriously??? This isn’t talking about you guys though, right? Get those 10,000 steps! (ScienceDaily)
• The Physical Toll of Negative Emotions <<Sometimes health problems start with stress. Great read, especially if you’re having problems and cannot pinpoint the cause. (Mark’s Daily Apple)
• Analysis of Conflicting Fish Oil Studies Finds That Omega-3 Fatty Acids Still Matter <<Confused by the press over omega-3s and fish oil? A new analysis sorts it out. (ScienceDaily)
• Diet’s Role In Lowering Risk of Repeat Heart Attacks <<Know someone who ignores their diet because they assume the medications they are on will keep them healthy? You might want to share this one with them. (Wall Street Journal)
• Moroccan Grated Carrot and Beet Salad <<Moroccan flavors are my favorite. Though beets and carrots are so sweet already I’d skip the honey in this recipe. (Simply Recipes)

What inspired you this week?