National Post

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CEO of McDonald’s says his daily fast food habit hasn’t stopped him from losing weight
Don Thompson says he lost 20 pounds in the last year, just by getting a bit more active — while still eating daily at the restaurant chain he leads.
[Justin Sullivan/Getty Images files]

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Is chocolate good for your health? Can it improve your odds against heart disease and stroke? 
Jennifer Sygo, our resident dietitian at the Post, delves into this question about everyone’s favourite sweet yet again, coming out with some interesting conclusions based on new research. Spoiler alert: The short answer is yes, (some) chocolate is good for you and your heart.
[Stephen Chernin/Getty Images files]

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Mother’s obesity during pregnancy spikes baby’s risk of stroke, heart attack later on: Quebec study
A mother’s obesity during pregnancy appears to set her baby up for an increased risk of heart attack and stroke when he or she is older, Canadian researchers are reporting following a study at Laval University.
[Fotolia]

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Dietitian Jennifer Sygo’s four strategies for shedding weight this spring
If you’re trying to shed excess weight this spring, start by ditching the leftover Easter candy, adding some protein and considering a raw component in your daily diet. Jennifer Sygo goes over some surefire ways to get your healthier regimen off the ground.
[Photo credit: Peter J. Thompson/National Post files]

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How medical science got it exactly wrong on childhood food allergies
How prevalent are food allergies? According to the U.S. National Center for Health Statistics, the prevalence of children under the age of 18 afflicted with food allergies increased by 18% from 1997 to 2007. For certain food allergies, the increase has been even steeper. Children in North America and the U.K., for example, have seen the prevalence of peanut allergies double in a decade, according to a 2008 study published by the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology. And a Canadian study about peanut allergies conducted on Montreal families showed an increase from 1.34% in the 2000-2002 period to 1.62% prevalence in the 2005-2007 period.

“We don’t have a good explanation for why that is,” Papadopoulos said. “But delayed introduction does seem to be a factor.” (Getty Images/Thinkstock)

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Could an egg a day help keep a growing waistline at bay?
A new study examining the eating patterns of teenage girls in the U.S. and the effects those habits have on feelings of hunger and obesity has found that yes, eating breakfast is bad. How bad? It can directly lead to getting fat. The good news? Eating breakfast, especially when it includes ample protein, may help protect against hunger cravings and the risk of obesity.
[Photo credit: Oliver Berg/AFP/Getty Images files]

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When a calorie doesn’t equal a calorie, what does that mean for weight loss?
Post dietitian Jennifer Sygo examines the research behind almonds and other tree nuts containing fewer calories than what food scientists previously thought, and how cooking food boosts the available calories from certain foods.
[Photo credit: Getty Images]

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Is eating quinoa evil? What about quinoa from Bolivia? Should we just grow it ourselves in North America?
Not so fast, writes Jennifer Sygo, the Post’s resident dietitian. This superfood is getting needlessly dragged through the political mud right now …
[Photo credit: Alain Jocard/AFP/Getty Images]

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Could omega-3 fatty acids do more harm to the heart than good? B.C. researchers say yes
Research at the University of B.C.’s Okanagan campus is calling into question the value of fish-oil based supplements as a way to combat cardiac and inflammatory disease …
[Photo credit: Tyler Anderson/National Post files]

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2012’s Culinary Zeitgeist, from Guy Fieri to banned foie gras, from the end of Twinkies to Paula Deen’s diabetes diet
What were the trends that drove food culture in the past 12 months? They varied from DIY resto reviews to beets displacing kale to micro-distilled spirits. Read on for a review of the year in food.
[The last Twinkies ever? Well, perhaps. Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images file photo]

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On grazing, obesity and some key facts about snacks
Many dietitians, myself included, have long recommended eating frequent, smaller meals and snacks throughout the day. But does that mean that snacking is always the right choice?
[Photo by Tyler Anderson/National Post]

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Cleanse your body and mind before the real December mayhem hits
There was something about the suddenly de rigueur juice cleanse that intrigued me to no end. It didn’t strike me as a fad diet (which I’m against)

Good health will kill you, studies find
What would we do without health studies, which provide a steady source of evidence that no matter what you do in pursuit of good health and fitness, it’s wrong?
Multivitamins will kill you; Apples are bad for your teeth, and fruit juice is worse than pop.

The invention of the Dorito: The moment when Americans decided to relax and get fat
If America goes calamitously into decline, will historians of the future describe it as the first empire in history destroyed by an uncontrollable epidemic of mass snacking?

It seems possible. Many a dietician already sees it that way. Millions of Americans make themselves sick by routinely stuffing themselves with fatty, salt-heavy, food-like substances.

They eat meals that are too big and sip over-sugared drinks. But the core of the issue is snacking. Americans have come to believe that any activity, especially watching television, needs to be accompanied by high-calorie munching. (Canadians, as usual, closely follow them; other nations fall into line behind us.)

Mass obesity, on a level never before approached in the world, is the result. A historian of the future, looking back, may well decide that obesity produced society-crippling levels of heart disease, diabetes, etc., which collapsed the health system, which in turn destroyed the economy.

Have your cupcake and savour it, too: The perils of food-related guilt
We can spend much of our lives surrounded by reasons to feel lousy about ourselves. Pick up any beauty or lifestyle magazine and you’ll find plenty of examples of the way your current life just doesn’t quite measure up: You can always be thinner, richer, fitter, more stylish or more organized. The fields of food and nutrition (not just the weight loss industry) have also evolved into an industry driven by our guilty consciences. We still have the old-school guilt — I’m talking about the “I’ve-already-had-dessert-and-it’s-not-even-noon” kind of sheepishness, but now we also have the pressure to be über-healthy to add to the pile. I’m talking about the gluten-free, sugar-free, vitamin-popping, goji berry-laden healthy lifestyle that we’re somehow all supposed to abide by day in and day out. Our grandparents had no knowledge of any of this stuff, yet we’re supposed to live like nutritional saints, or else hide our heads in shame if it turns out we actually enjoy a diet pop or bowl of pasta once in a while. (Photo: Peter J. Thompson/National Post)