This mac 'n cheese ad looks like a perfectly normal ad, right? Lusciously tempting food pic + catchy tagline. You see it, it registers, but likely as not it "goes in one ear (or eye) and out the other." At least that's what we think happens. The creators of these ads...
With grocery prices front and center in the news, who doesn't want to save a few dollars? Here's a simple way to save both dollars and your health: Steer clear of the snack aisles. In almost all cases, snack foods are highly processed (i.e., ultra-processed) and...
You might remember this post: "Do You Put Antifreeze on Your Skin? In Your Mouth?" That article explained how propylene glycol, an ingredient in anti-freeze, is also used in both cosmetics and food. Since posting that article, I've run into a couple readers who...
How Does This Happen to Smart People? (Part 3: Learnings from a Garlic Party) This is part of a continuing series on Food Marketing that explores why we need a different kind of smarts to stay healthy in an unhealthy food environment, i.e., "marketing-smarts." (Find...
This is part of a continuing series on Food Marketing Shenanigans that explores: How does it happen that when it comes to food, smart people are often not so very smart? It's because we need a different kind of smarts to stay healthy in an unhealthy food environment,...
This post is part of a continuing series on Food Marketing Shenanigans that explores: How does it happen that when it comes to food, smart people are often not so very smart? It's because we need a different kind of smarts to stay healthy in an unhealthy food...
Are you a smart person? What kind of question is that?!! Of course we're all smart people. So how is it that when it comes to food, we're often not so very smart: Uncritically trusting what food companies tell us about their products. Trusting that if something is on...
A previous post talked about the importance of good eating support. The underlying point was this: If you want to be a healthy eater, you'll get very little to no support from our food culture. But you'll get plenty of support and even powerful encouragement to be an...
Earlier this summer I had a classic "post-college-finals crash." After closing a big house sale, I turned into a pile of mush, unable to do much besides stare out the window. Of course the workaholic part of me demanded that I get up and do something productive. But...
This is the last article in a series devoted to ultra-processed foods or UPFs. I've written about them for a while because I feel so strongly that they are the root cause of our healthy eating deficiencies. Hopefully, you can see their dangers and feel motivated to...
In a recent newsletter, holistic certified nutritionist Elyse Wagner made a vulnerable share. She described how she had made a super yummy bean dip for the Super Bowl and then proceeded, chip by chip, to eat "HALF yes, HALF of the bean dip before HALF TIME." As an...
Around January 19th, I saw a post notifying us that it was the "Official End of New Year's Resolutions Day." I call it the White Flag Day, the day we finally wave the white flag, throw in the towel and forget about our erstwhile resolutions that are barely three weeks...