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By Laura Cipullo, RD, CDE, CEDRD and Laura Cipullo Whole Nutrition Services Team Understanding the difference between Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes Diabetes is not just one illness. There are several different types. The most common are Type 1 and Type 2, and there is also gestational diabetes which happens during pregnancy. Type 1 and 2 are two totally different diseases, however they share some similarities and can look very much alike. People who have either are overly thirsty, urinate a lot, have low energy, and both have to do with blood sugar and insulin. Those with Type 2, however, might not have symptoms before they are diagnosed, while in Type 1 people have extreme incidences of high and low blood sugar, which may lead them to get medical help sooner. What causes Type 1 and Type 2? Type 1 is usually due to beta cell destruction and leads to absolute insulin deficiency. In Type 2 diabetes, it is believed the body no longer responds to the hormone insulin which helps sugar enter into the cells. If sugar can’t enter the cells, you are left with a high blood sugar and excess insulin production. Type 1 was, at one time, typically diagnosed in childhood, leading it to be called “juvenile diabetes,” but that term is now falling out of favor, as it is now also newly diagnosed in adults. Type 2 is known for progressing from insulin resistance, also known as prediabetes, to Type 2. It was formerly only found in adults, leading it to be called “adult-onset” diabetes, but it is now common in children too. The fact that either can be diagnosed at any age has led the American Diabetes Association to simply call them Type 1 and Type 2.   How common is diabetes? Type 1 is found in 5 to 10 out of 100 people who have diabetes, while Type 2 is far more common, affecting 90 to 95 out of 100 people with diabetes, according to WebMD.   How To Manage Diabetes Managing and preventing diabetes is vital because the complications (blindness, kidney failure, heart disease, stroke, amputations) are so serious. One especially important difference between the two is that Type 1 cannot be prevented, while Type 2 may. Having a healthy weight and eating healthy most of the time, combined with regular exercise, are key in any diabetes prevention program. In fact, those actions can even be used to help treat this type of diabetes and oral medications may not be required.   Eating Well With Diabetes One important thing to remember about either type of diabetes is that it does not mean the end of good eating! Yes, your diet will look different now, but you can still enjoy many of the foods you once loved. As I discussed in a recent blog post, you can have carbs and even sugar when you have diabetes. It’s all a matter of managing it properly. You can also make all types of yummy desserts and other comfort foods with my Diabetes Comfort Food Diet Cookbook.   Learn About Diabetes-Friendly Diet Plans and Nutrition In addition, Holly Warfel and I are Registered dietitians and Certified Diabetes Educators, so if you live in the New York area, we can help you learn more about the types of foods you can include, and those you should eat less of. When you are diagnosed with any illness, it is helpful to learn as much as possible about it. Ask your doctor, read up on it, and make an action plan so that you can be as healthy as possible! References: ABC NEWS Independent Physicians’ Association of Lee County WebMD

Image via freeimages.com/EdwinPijpe By Laura Cipullo, RD, CDE, CEDRD How to Recognize Eating Disorders in Men How common are eating disorders in men? In 2013, the results of a 12-year study were published by JAMA Pediatrics revealing the toll body image issues and eating disorders were taking on teen boys. Over 1/3 of the boys in that study had binged or purged; about 9 percent were very concerned with the look of their muscles; 6 percent were worried about their “thinness,” and about 2 percent had used supplements, growth hormone derivative or steroids in pursuit of what they considered to be the ideal body. As ANAD (National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders) points out, “no ethnic, gender or socioeconomic group is immune to the dangers of this disease. In regards to gender, 1 in 10 cases of these [eating] disorders involve males. This means that hundreds of thousands of males are affected.” The 1 in 10 number is somewhat controversial, as the JAMA study reports it might actually be closer to 1 in 4. ANAD also points out that doctors are not as likely to diagnose eating disorders in men, and that men with bulimia may be less likely to seek treatment because they consider it a “female” disease. Gender differences in eating disorders One thing that may complicate diagnosis is that eating disorders can look different in men than in women: “There are some males who do want to be thinner and are focused on thinness,” lead study author Alison Field said, “but many more are focused on wanting bigger or at least more toned and defined muscles.” Because we are so used to seeing thinness associated with eating disorders, it can be hard to recognize bulking up as a dangerous problem. Eating disorders in media Eating disorders are not necessarily caused by the media, but the media can certainly play a part in how we feel about our appearance, and young people are especially impressionable. Health sites and magazines for men often encourage a buffer body, one that can only be obtained by hours spent in the gym. Male celebrities — like their female counterparts — have also been chastised for not looking “perfect” enough. In 2015, The Boston Globe published a story announcing that we have officially “entered the era of man shaming,” citing instances of Sam Smith being called “ugly” and “fat” by Howard Stern, and Leo DiCaprio being made fun of in several media outlets for the way he looked wearing shorts on a beach. More recently, actor Wentworth Miller was criticized by fans for gaining weight, which led the actor to reveal he had been suffering from depression, an eating disorder, and had been suicidal. “One day, out for a hike in Los Angeles with a friend, we crossed paths with a film crew shooting a reality show,” he wrote. “Unbeknownst to me, paparazzi were circling. They took my picture, and the photos were published alongside images of me from another time in my career. ‘Hunk To Chunk.’ ‘Fit To Flab.’ Etc.” Eventually, he came to see that picture of himself as something not to be ashamed of, but rather something that reminded him of the struggle he had been through. Eating disorder awareness and support The medical community, parents, and the public at large need to be made more aware that eating disorders can strike anyone so that boys and men can get the help they need. Being aware means being on the lookout for signs, which are not always so obvious or may not look that dangerous to the average eye. Here are some tips to ID eating disorder behaviors in boys and/or men. Be aware if the person: 1. Has a fixation on his appearance, especially concerning “6 pack abs” 2. Has limited visible body fat 3. Is using supplements and/or injections to increase muscle definition and bulking up 4. Is weighing himself more than once a day 5. Is body checking using measuring tape, pinching skin, and/or using skin calipers 6. Is choosing food based on percentage of body fat as deemed by the scale Confronting someone who has an eating disorder isn’t easy, but it might be necessary if you want to give him the best chance of recovery. Don’t be afraid to start the conversation.

By Laura Cipullo, RD, CDE, CEDRD Five Ways to Manage Blood Sugar It can take time and patience to learn how to manage your blood sugar, but try not to get discouraged. These five tips can make managing glucose a simpler process, and the best part is the longer you practice them, the easier they will be to incorporate into your everyday life. Learn to Carb Count Yes, you can eat carbs if you have diabetes! In fact, you should. An ideal guideline is to eat the same amount of carbohydrates at every main meal. So this means about 45- 60 grams of carbs per meal. How many carbs are in your favorite foods? Look at food labels, and also check out The Diabetes Comfort Food Diet Cookbook and the American Diabetes Association guide to foods with 15 grams of carbohydrates. These include a slice of bread, 1/2 cup of oatmeal, or 6 chicken nuggets. Do Preprandial and Postprandial Checks Preprandial is just a fancy word meaning “before you eat,” while postprandial means “after you eat.”  Always check your blood sugar before (preprandial) and exactly two hours after (postprandial) a meal when trying new foods and new combinations to see how your body, especially your blood sugar, responds. According to the American Diabetes Association, adults with diabetes should have a preprandial glucose target of 80–130 mg/dl, a postprandial glucose target of less than 180 mg/dl. I say, just look for an improvement in the range. Practice Mindfulness. Mindfulness is the state of being aware, and it can do so much for our health, from helping IBS to back pain to glucose control. Research supports mindfulness, especially mindfulness mediation, as a proven way to help glycemic management: A study conducted by Brown University School of Public Health, and published in the American Journal of Health Behavior, found those who did best on a mindfulness test had a better chance of having normal plasma glucose levels than those who did worse. To get the full benefits of mindfulness in your own life, use a mediation app such as Head Space or Buddhify (with over 80 guided meditations!). Move More We recently celebrated National Walking Day. But just because the holiday is over doesn’t mean we stop celebrating! In any way possible, look to increase your daily movement. This can range from walking on a treadmill to adding more time to your typical exercise routine. Some easy ways to do it is to get off a few bus stops earlier or take the stairs instead of the elevator at work. If it’s a nice day, walk on your lunch hour instead of eating at your desk. If you need motivation, get a pedometer to track your steps or a fitbit. And remember, you don’t need to sign up for a year-long gym membership or commit to an intimidating high-level Zumba class. Five minutes more of movement definitely counts! Just get some extra activity in. Remember: anything is better than nothing. If you do five minutes each day, by the end of the week you will have added over a half-hour of extra exercise, and perhaps painlessly. Include Sugar Yes, I said to eat sugar. If you love sweets, plan them into your carb counts on a regular basis. If you deprive yourself of pleasurable foods, you may end up feeling like you “cheated” when you finally give in or with an unplanned high blood sugar. You can keep your sugar in a lower or more narrow range if you allot for the sugar in your daily carbohydrate counting.      

Image via David Shankbone/Flickr By Laura Cipullo, RD, CDE, CEDRD Lena Dunham on the Joys of Running We all know running is good for us, but we don’t all share the same enthusiasm for it. How many times have you laced up your sneakers, started to head out the door, and suddenly thought, “You know what? I think I’ll skip it today. Yeah, I think I’d rather just go back on the couch and watch Netflix.” I can’t see you, but I bet there are a lot of heads slowly shaking “Yes” right now. And even if you love running, I’ll bet there are some days you love it more than others. Well, the good news is that even unenthusiastic runners (or tennis players, or gym goers, etc.) can eventually feel energized and excited by movement. I recently read a fascinating article about Lena Dunham that illustrates this exact point. Those of you who know Dunham, through her work on Girls, know she is not exactly the athletic type. She has a normal woman’s body, which she is proud of and frequently shows in nude scenes, and she enjoys eating cupcakes (one of the first scenes in Girls shows her eating a cupcake in a bathtub while talking to a friend). “I would like to be lying sideways on a divan at all times, like being carried,” she told ESPN in this interview. However, she recently decided she wanted her character Hannah on Girls to take up running. At first, she thought she’d have her character run in a “goofy” way, but then she decided she wanted Hannah to take her running seriously. What this meant was that Lena was also going to have to take running seriously. Dunham trained with Matt Wilpers from New York’s Mile High Running Club and in just two sessions, Dunham’s eyes were opened. “…He explained things to me that I hadn’t understood for my entire life about my body and how exercise works.” Matt encouraged her to “run like somebody who knows how to run,” and not be intimidated by the process. Lena watched her attitude towards running change from being annoyed by it to getting pleasure out of it, and really enjoying those endorphins. This is what I believe often gets lost in the shuffle when we talk about exercise, and why this interview with Lena is so important: Typically, exercise is discussed only as a way to lose weight, as something you suffer through because you want a certain body. But that is not a healthy way to look at exercise. Exercise is for everybody. Whether you happen to lose weight or not when you exercise is besides the point. A healthy way to approach exercise is to focus on if you like the way you feel when you do it and after you do it. Do you feel your body getting stronger? Are you excited about reaching running goals (to run a half-hour a day, or maybe to train for a marathon)? You want to feel empowered by running or any form of exercise. You don’t want to feel intimidated by the “better” runners or the “naturally” athletic types. Running made Dunham feel more empowered even when she wasn’t training, even when she was just trying to not be late, running on the street: “To run with this increased confidence and the sense that I could actually use my body to get places, that was a pretty big revelation, considering I’ve already been alive for almost three decades.” Lena posted a picture of herself running, one that was taken by the paparazzi, on her Instagram. She loved, she said, “that I looked like a person who could run; that was just so thrilling for me.” Lena does other forms of exercise as well, including aerobics and strength training and says exercise has helped her with anxiety and OCD. Lena is reclaiming running for all, and emphasizing the numerous benefits it offers, benefits that go so far beyond being able to fit into a certain jean size. I am not writing this blog post to tell everyone they have to be a runner. What I am encouraging you to do is simply move, whether it’s for an hour or five minutes. And analyze how you feel before, during and after your “workout,” however you define a workout. Has your mood improved? Do you feel like you are capable of walking further than you could yesterday? Are you proud of how much stronger you are? It may be hard to envision yourself as a regular exerciser, but don’t define yourself by what you used to do. Remember, today is a new day, and you can be anything you want to be.  

Deepak Chopra image via lifescript By Laura Cipullo, RD, CDE, CEDRD Five Wellness Tips from Deepak Chopra It takes special people to create change — people who look at the traditional methods of doing things and wonder if there isn’t a bettter way. These are the folks who don’t follow the pack, who don’t subscribe to the same theories that everybody else does. The people on this list are all people who fit that description and as a result, they have become the wellness gamechangers, inspiring not only the general public but other wellness providers, such as myself.   Deepak Chopra You probably know Deepak Chopra from his many appearances on the Oprah Winfrey Show. Like Dr. Phil, Suze Orman and Dr. Oz, Deepak Chopra was one of a handful of gurus Oprah introduced us to, and she still works with him today. (See this article for their latest venture together.) Chopra is one of the leading practitioners of alternative medicine, a field he became interested in after losing faith in traditional medicine. According to biography.com, he left his job at a hospital after meeting Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, a transcendental mediation guru, and started his own alternative medicine business with the Maharashi, selling products such as teas and oils. From there, he moved on to creating clinics to better serve the public, ultimately opening the Chopra Center for Well Being in California. He became an immensely successful author, bringing his message to the masses with over 50 books, including the New York Times bestsellers Reinventing the Body, Resurrecting the Soul: How to Create a New You and Ageless Body, Timeless Mind. Deepak Chopra taught us to look at health and happiness in a whole new way. As biography.com puts it, “Chopra’s core mesage centers around the idea that the decadence of Western life leads to a complicated reliance on a material world to find happiness.” So what we think makes us happy doesn’t really make us happy. Chopra also believes that the mind and the power of meditation can heal the body; that a mindful approach to life is a guiding path to happiness; and that it is vital to establish a connection between body and soul. He looks beyond healing symptoms with medicine and takes a more encompassing mind/body approach to wellness. Dr. Sue Shepherd Sue Shepherd is an Advanced Accredited Practicing Dietitian and Accredited Nutritionist, who works with folks suffering from food-based allergies. In 1999, Sue Shepherd created the FODMAP diet, which helps ease the symptoms of Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS). FODMAPs are Fermentable Oligosaccharides, Disaccharides, Monosaccharides and Polyols, “complex names for a collection of molecules found in food, that can be poorly absorbed by some people,” explains Shepherd’s site. FODMAPs are found in a wide variety of foods, like artichokes, mangoes, milk and baked beans. Shepherd’s diet allows people to try to treat their IBS naturally, rather than resorting to medications, if they are not needed. For her research efforts, she received the Gastroenterological Society of Australia’s Young Investigator of the Year Award in 2006. Shepherd, who suffers from celiac disease herself, has written numerous cookbooks, including Gluten Free Cooking, and has even created a range of food products for those with IBS. She gives hope to those with food allergies that they can still treat their symptoms without sacrificing the foods they love. Joseph Pilates Pilates may seem like a new trend, but its roots go back over a century. Its creator Joseph Hubertus Pilates was born in 1883, and looked to exercise and sports as a way to heal his various illnesses, including asthma. In the 20s, Joseph came to America and opened a studio. Decades later, Pilates caught on with the NYC Ballet, and by the 70s, it was the latest thing among celebrities. Pilates is a form of exercise that strengthens the body, particularly the core, and can be used by various people for various reasons. In addition to dancers using it in their field, athletes also use Pilates to train better and it is used medically by people who need to recover from physical ailments, for instance back pain. As back pain frequently requires medicine or surgery, Pilates is an all-natural option for back pain sufferers to have in their toolbox. Michael Pollan The Omnivore’s Dilemma by Michael Pollan is a revolutionary work that has turned its author into one of our most highly recognized food activists. In our busy lives, we often grab food that is the most convenient, but are we making the healthiest decision? What do we know about our food and where it comes from? Pollan encourages readers to understand how their food is made and what it is made of. A Chicken McNugget, which we would imagine to be almost all chicken, is actually made up largely of corn, says Pollan. Even milkshakes and sodas from McDonald’s are made partially from corn. Pollan questions the food pyramid, made up by the government, and Atkins, which discourages carbs. The “omnivore’s dilemma” is this: While we as omnivores can eat everything we want, does that mean we should? How do we decide what to eat? Pollan has a back-to-nature philosophy, encouraging us to eat foods with ingredients that are easy to understand, that our grandparents would have recognized. The problem with today’s foods, he explains, boils down to the problems with the industrial food chain, which gives the public an end product (say, Twinkies) that doesn’t resemble what it has been made of (corn). Pollan believes that once people understand where their food comes from, it will allow them to enjoy it more. His latest project is Cooked, a documentary series you can catch right now on Netflix. David Katz, MD, MPH, FACPM, FACP David Katz is a medical educator, professor and the author of 200 articles and over 10 books, including Disease-Proof: The Remarkable Truth About What Makes Us Well. In that book, Katz investigates the link between chronic disease and behavior — specifically not smoking, eating

By Laura Cipullo, RD, CDE, CEDRD Is Fat OK? Recently, the New York Times posted an op-ed by novelist Sarai Walker (Dietland) titled “Yes, I’m Fat. It’s Ok. I Said It.” In her article, she explained how so many people still think the word fat is an insult and how she and other body-positive activists believe fat is something to be proud of. I also believe that there is nothing wrong with fat, and that fat shaming is incredibly harmful. It does not make people healthier, and it only serves to hurt the self-care of others. The bottom line is you can be healthy and fat, and that is a cornerstone of the health at every size movement (HAES), which I encourage you to join. This article from Mom Dishes It Out and this blog explain how to neutralize the word fat (especially around kids), how to support the movement and what the science of fat can really tell us. The comedian Nicole Arbour has it wrong—as do many people. Fat shaming is not helpful. It makes people feel worse about themselves, not better! Smart people recognize that putting people down is counterproductive to self-care, which ultimately leads to wellness. Our culture needs to refocus and promote positives specifically around food and body. Moms, dads, and friends—we need to get it right. As adults who influence children and their health, it is in our hands to prevent fat shaming and, just as important, to redefine the word “FAT” and the word “DIET.” Using the Word “FAT” When my children were born, I avoided the word “fat,” making a rule—it was not to be used in my house and guests could not call my kids fat. I even skipped the “fat caterpillar” part in Eric Carle’s book The Hungry Caterpillar. Fat was and is demonized in the public. Most who are/were called fat internalize the word, leading to poor body image, eating disorders, and low self-esteem. Neutralize the Word Things are changing. I have learned with my clients that focusing on wellness instead of weight loss are without a doubt a better way to achieve health—and even weight loss if needed. The Health at Every Size (HAES) movement has introduced the concept of neutralizing the word “fat.” This means, as parents and especially as health professionals, we should be redefining “fat.” The word should connate neither a good nor bad vibe. HAES recognizes that people may be overweight but that it doesn’t have to be a negative thing. Rather, size acceptance and body acceptance is most important when trying to pursue health. With this, I have in my practice and even at home begun to change the use of this word. I use the word “fat,” and along with the HAES’s influence, I encourage others to do so as well. Let’s face it, we all eat foods with fat, all have fat on our bodies, and all need both dietary and body fat. The Science on FAT Body size and fat are different. Body size and body fat are partly determined by genetics—actually about 50 percent. Body fat, stress, and even the way in which we eat affect how we gain, lose, and maintain weight. Excessive body fat is part of the cause and the result of metabolic snafus. Basically, think of it like this: your car is filled with gas, but your gas tank erroneously reads it as empty. You continue to pump gas into the tank and it spills out causing a mess. This can happen to expensive cars and used cars. There is no discrimination. Rather, miscommunication between bodily systems can happen in both thin people with a high fat mass as well as larger people with a high fat mass. That’s right, even thin people can have a high fat ratio and put themselves at risk for heart disease, diabetes, and more. (1) In other words, thinner as well as larger people can hold greater amounts of fat. It is not an appearance thing, so please stop judging the book by its cover. It can be quite deceiving. Recognize that health is not determined by the number on the scale, the size of your pants, or someone calling you fat. Health is much more complex. Fat is not bad or good. Fat is fat. Like anything else, too much of one thing can become unhealthy. And while we are on the topic of redefining “fat,” let’s also redefine the word “diet” and practice the All Foods Fit philosophy! To support this message, start using the hashtags #HAES, #AllFoodsFit, #AllBodiesFit, #redefinediet #BodyLove… References: International Journal of Obesity link for more info International Journal of Obesity (2006) 30, S23–S35. doi:10.1038/sj.ijo.0803516 The thrifty ‘catch-up fat’ phenotype: its impact on insulin sensitivity during growth trajectories to obesity and metabolic syndrome A G Dulloo1, J Jacquet2, J Seydoux2 and J-P Montani1

Image via Bjarte Kvinge Tvedt/freeimages.com By Laura Cipullo, RD, CDE, CEDRD 5 Magazines That Won’t Make You Feel Bad About Yourself While magazines can be fun to read, it can be hard to find a magazine that doesn’t make us feel bad about ourselves. Many focus on quick-fix diets or other extreme behaviors, rather than promoting overall well-being. Reading them can make you feel like your body is something to be “improved” upon rather than something to be enjoyed. Covers feature models who don’t represent the many shapes and sizes women come in. But things are changing. Women’s Health, the magazine I wrote Body Clock Diet for, is leading this cause with their “anti-drop 2 sizes” campaign. Other women’s sites and magazines have made it their goal not to be diet and exercise-obsessed, with stories that appeal to a range of women’s interests. 5 Magazines that make you feel good about reading: Real Simple Real Simple is devoted to helping you find easy solutions for life’s challenges. The magazine’s Amazon description sums it up: With Real Simple, “you’ll find articles about reducing stress, simple makeup and hair techniques that look fantastic, easy recipes, organization ideas, uncluttered décor, and ways to remove burdens from your life while retaining all its fullness.” Sample articles include “5 Ways to Make Mornings More Manageable,” “A Month of Easy Dinners,” and “How to Pull Off a Career Pivot.” On the cover, you might find pictures of yummy looking food you can easily prepare, chic fashion accessories to help you pull off a streamlined look, or a picture of a pretty beauty product. Real Simple is about helping you manage life and not about reaching unrealistic or unhealthy body standards/expectations. Food has been described in the magazine as “delicious” or something you will “love” and not something to restrict or avoid. It’s not only Real Simple, but a Real Smart way of approaching the women’s market. MORE Ageism is a common practice in women’s magazines. Advertisers want magazines to target “the younger crowd.” As a result, articles are skewed towards women in their 20s and 30s, and it’s as if women who are 40 and over do not exist. More is a welcome antidote to that, a real breath of fresh air, and proof that beauty knows no age: A recent interview features Susan Sweet, the general manager of Neutrogena, with the headline “This is What 47 Looks Like.” More includes women who are making a difference in society, women we can look up to and be inspired by. There is, for instance, the story of a woman who became a UNICEF ambassador. Their latest issue spotlights over 40 cover model/actress Rachel Weisz; inside you can learn how she crafts “a meaningful life.” MORE wants their readers to have more of everything that’s good — more energy, more health, more peace — check out their article on meditation in the workplace. Their healthy eating section doesn’t include any harmful diets, and the fitness section focuses on realistic goals, like just getting more active at midlife. Well-being is the ultimate goal. Psychology Today Contrary to what you might believe, you don’t need to be a psychologist to read Psychology Today. This is a fascinating magazine for the general audience. Started in the late 60s, Psychology Today provides insight into why we do the things we do, with articles and blogs written by experts in the field. It’s an excellent tool for helping you cope with life, and if you can’t find the mag on newsstands (Rite Aid and Barnes & Noble carry it), the blog gives you a good sample of what the magazine is like. One great feature of the website is the way it is broken down into topics. You can search for all articles about eating disorders, or general health, or stress, or whatever interests you, and you can search for mental health professionals and treatment facilities. The magazine gives you real-world tips backed by science, and you won’t find any body-negative language. Check out a sample article, about ditching social media to pursue a more mindful existence. Experience Life Experience Life may be difficult to find on newsstands, but it is worth seeking out (check out Barnes & Noble for copies). Created in 2001 by Pilar Gerasimo, EL refers to itself as “the no-gimmicks, no-hype health & fitness magazine” and that is the perfect description of what you will find here. It’s full of tips on mindfulness, nutrition, yoga, healing, parenting and more — generally everything that can help you “experience life” in a more positive, more fulfilled way. Gerasimo started Experience Life after she came to the realization that there were no “whole person, whole life” publications in existence. “I figured I couldn’t be the only person who wanted a smart, health-oriented magazine that addressed the real-life challenges of balancing healthy priorities with the realities of the current culture,” she’s quoted on the mag’s web site. “I couldn’t be the only one who wanted deeper perspective and more complete information on important health and lifestyle topics.” Check out their website and you will be amazed at the range of subjects this publication covers. I am especially impressed that are one of the few magazines that really make an effort to explore what mindfulness can do for you. Diabetes Forecast When people first get diagnosed with diabetes, they may falsely think they can’t enjoy food anymore. But I believe that all foods fit, even when you have diabetes. (Check out my Diabetes Comfort Food Cookbook for yummy proof of that!) Diabetes Forecast, a magazine created by the American Diabetes Association, shares my philosophy. Here you can find diabetic-friendly recipes like dark chocolate-raspberry pudding and Ronaldo’s apple pie. There is plenty of helpful healthful info about diabetes, along with a special section called Body & Mind. Body & Mind provides day-to-day advice on living with diabetes, such as stress-reducing tips, creating a diabetes-friendly home and dating with diabetes. Even if you do not

Image via iliana/freeimages By Laura Cipullo, RD, CDE, CEDRD Is Olive Oil Good For You? March is National Nutrition Month. In honor of that, Let’s explore the benefits of olive oil! There is an amazing video over on YouTube from New York’s Bitten conference, which I was lucky enough to attend this year. Bitten happens once a year in February,  and this video features Nicholas Coleman, an oleologist at Eataly (the famed Italian supermarket in New York City) and the founder of Grove & Vine. At Eataly, he educates guests (and staff members) about olive oil (there are over 100 types sold at the market!). After watching this video, I can definitely tell you — Coleman really knows his stuff! The video on YouTube is only about 20 minutes long, but it is an excellent primer on how olive oil is grown and what true olive oil is and isn’t, and Coleman’s excitement about olive oil is positively contagious. Olive oil is something you may not think about much, but after watching this video, you’ll never think of it the same way again. Who realized such a simple product was this complex? Some highlights from his talk: One of the things that may most surprise you is that olive oil is a fresh fruit juice. Not that you should drink it as such, but technically, that’s what it is, and freshness is a component in how it will taste to the consumer. Much of what is on our store shelves is not true olive oil. It lacks freshness and purity. It is diluted with other ingredients. If an olive oil does not have a harvest date on it, do not buy, and never consume olive oil that is over two years old. Olive oil has a range of flavors and antioxidant values depending on how it is harvested and made, and what type of olives are used. Olive oil is not just one uniform product with one uniform taste. Think of olive oil like wine — know the olives as you’d know the grapes. Olive oil is grown all over the world, not just in the Mediterranean. You can even find it in Australia! Every year there are new oils, with flavors changing based on weather and harvest. Olive oil is not always yellow — Coleman shows a green olive oil in this video. Olive oil was a popular beauty treatment in olden times; it was and is an essential oil. People would infuse it with different aromas and it would act as a type of perfume. Olive oil satiates you and helps you digest your food better. Just a few bad olives can contaminate the whole batch. I hope you enjoy Coleman’s video. I believe it is important to understand how your food is made, where it comes from, and how it nutritionally benefits you. I think you’ll find it makes the experience of eating that much more fulfilling and enjoyable.