Bad Breakfast Foods

A fattening, unhealthy look at some of the worst foods you can eat for breakfast.

Mama always told you that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. But if you breakfast is brimming with butter, lard, and sugar, you may be putting your body at a disadvantage. Which breakfast foods are stuck to the bottom of the barrel for nutrition? Read on to find out.

Doughnuts

You knew it was coming, so may as well get it over with. Whether glazed, powdered, or cream-filled, doughnuts were made to be delicious ways to begin or interrupt your day. What they were not created for was to be a healthy way to get your day started right. Many companies have made it their mission to create the ultimate healthy doughnut, but every attempt has come off less tasty than the original. Instead of settling for something that tastes less than the best, leave doughnuts of all shapes, sizes, and health on the shelf.

Kids' Cereals

You never want to grow up. You love your big-kid toys and your big-kid video games, and you're still eating the same cereal you were when you were in elementary school. Unfortunately, those brightly colored, sugary sweet cereals have not become any healthier over the years. In fact, researchers from Yale University state that these kid-friendly cereals that are full of sugar and artificial flavors are usually less healthy than any cereals made for adults. So if your kids are eating the same colorful cereals as you, you'll all need to change. Instead, look for something with four grams of fiber and less than four grams of sugar per serving.

Energy Bars

They're crammed full of protein and go-get-em, and they fit in the palm of your hand. So what's the problem? The problem is that alongside all that energy-boosting protein, there is also a lot of fat and calories. If you don't spend adequate time each day to get rid of these extra fats and calories, your whole body is going to feel the extra pounds piling on. Instead of grabbing an energy bar for breakfast, only eat them right before or after an intense workout. That way you're keeping your body fueled properly, but you're also burning off most of the stuff you don't want stuck to your hips.

Front Seat Foods

The mother of all bad breakfast foods is breakfast on the go. While fast-food breakfast is convenient and relatively inexpensive, it is also one of the worst ways to fill your stomach in the morning. Some of the most common options are sausage or chicken biscuits; biscuits and gravy; or bacon, egg, and cheese biscuits. Make any of these items at home and you'll be on the border of unhealthy. Pick them up at a fast-food restaurant and you're guaranteed a dose of artery-slowing, fat-producing food, served in a Styrofoam carton with a side of orange juice. And no, the 100% natural orange juice doesn't magically turn gravy into a harmless or healthy substance.

Runners Up

Think your breakfast doesn't need a facelift just because your favorite fattening breakfast treat snuck by without making the list? Think again. Here are a few other fattening breakfast foods to avoid.

• Sausage: Just as high in fat as it is in flavor, sausage can put a hurting on your good health.
• Pancakes: Whole-wheat pancakes aren't too unhealthy, but out-of-the-box pancakes doused in syrup is anything but healthy. In fact, anything doused in syrup is a bad idea.
• Ham: For all the reasons to avoid bacon and sausage, keep your salivating mouth away from ham. Tastes great, more filling for your waistline.

Fighting Allergies And Asthma Naturally

Overall, a person's lifestyle can effect their health in many ways - typically, the American diet promotes systemic inflammation through imbalances of omega-6 and omega-3 pathways. In other words, the Western diet consists of too many omega-6 fats and not nearly enough omega-3 fats. Omega-6 fats are found in almost every food you eat and are especially high in margarine, vegetable, canola and soybean oils. Omega-3 fats are found in fewer foods such as green leafy vegetables, walnuts, flax meal and oil and cold water fish (salmon). The average American consumes omega-6 oils 20 to 30 times more than omega-3 oils, and this ratio should be more in line with 2-4 to 1. Also, the American diet consists of too many processed foods loaded with high-glycemic sugars and unhealthy fats like trans fats derived from partially hydrogenated vegetable, canola and soybean oils.

A poor diet and lack of exercise promotes weight gain and increased body fat storage, especially around the midsection. Central (intra-abdominal) fat cells produce chemicals (cytokines) that promote systemic inflammation similar to omega-6/omega-3 imbalances. Together, these factors induce a systemic environment prone to inflammation and disease including heart disease, diabetes and various cancers in conjunction with other conditions like allergies and asthma - those suffering from seasonal allergies and chronic asthma are predisposed to inflammatory reactions producing symptoms such as runny noise, watery eyes, sneezing, post-nasal drip, bronchial congestion, coughing, wheezing and difficulty breathing.

Here are some tips that you might want to consider and speak to your healthcare provider about. It is important to speak to a qualified healthcare provider regarding dietary, exercise and supplementation before commencing. Various supplements can interfere with prescription or over-the-counter medications, as well as various medical conditions.

Some basic tips to help fight allergies and asthma

1. Lose the midsection - Generally, a waist circumference measured at the belly button, more than half your height in inches is a red flag. Example: a 64 inch (5'4") tall person should have a waist measurement less than 32 inches.
2. Eat Right- eliminate processed foods including fast foods and beverages (sodas sweetened fruit juices). Eliminate high-glycemic sugars and white flour, and stay away from high-fructose corn syrup and trans fats (partially hydrogenated oils). Eat a well-balanced diet including whole foods, grains, nuts, plenty of fruits (especially berries) and vegetables, and quality proteins and fats.
3. Stay away from wheat, barley and rye, if allergic to gluten.
4. Drink green, white and black teas.
5. Exercise: incorporate an aerobic and weight training exercise plan based on your particular ability and medical situation.
6. Use a natural nasal spray that contains saline and xylitol (see below).Take a broad-spectrum multiple vitamin and mineral supplement.
7. The following supplements may prove beneficial in reducing inflammation and relieving various allergy and asthmatic symptoms: If you are taking medications, check with your doctor or pharmacist for possible interactions before taking any supplement.

• Vitamin C and bioflavinoids (500-1000 mg - 2 X day)
• Quercitin (250-500 mg - 3 X day)
• Boswellia or boswellic acid (300 mg - 3 X day)
• Fish oils (EPA/DHA) - (1000 mg - 3 X day)
• Flaxseed oil (cold pressed) - (1 tbsp - 1 X day)
• N-acetylcyteine or NAC (500 mg - 3 X day)
• Butterbur - make sure that this product is UPA-free (unsaturated pyrrolizidine alkaloid) - (50-75 mg - 2 X day)

Nasal Spray: I recommend using Activated Nasal Mist by Now Foods to help reduce nasal and sinus irritation.

Of course, seeking the help and guidance of a qualified healthcare provider who specializes in functional medicine, is always recommended because one size does not fit all; however, the above suggestions may prove beneficial.

Dr. Sardone

Health Benefits Of Green Tea

It's difficult not to gush about green tea.

More than a decade's worth of research about green tea's health benefits -- particularly its potential to fight cancer andheart disease -- has been more than intriguing, as have limited studies about green tea's role in lowering cholesterol, burning fat, preventing diabetes and stroke, and staving offdementia.

"I believe in green tea based on everything written about it," says Katherine Tallmadge, RD, LD, a nutritionist and spokeswoman for the American Dietetic Association. "Green tea, white tea, black tea -- I like all of them."

Still, real-world evidence is lacking; most of the consistent findings about green tea's health benefits have come out of the lab.

The few large-scale human studies that have focused on green tea's impact on heart disease and cancer are promising, but many of those were conducted in the East, where green tea is a dietary mainstay. The outcomes are likely influenced by other lifestyle factors such as high consumption of fish and soy protein, says cardiologist Nieca Goldberg, MD, a spokeswoman for the American Heart Association and medical director of the New York University Women's Heart Center.

But Goldberg agrees with other health professionals: green tea has important antioxidants and compounds that help in maintaining good health.

Green Tea's Powerful Antioxidants

Green tea's antioxidants, called catechins, scavenge for free radicals that can damage DNA and contribute to cancer, blood clots, and atherosclerosis. Grapes and berries, red wine, and dark chocolate also have potent antioxidants.

Because of green tea's minimal processing -- its leaves are withered and steamed, not fermented like black and oolong teas -- green tea's unique catechins, especially epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG), are more concentrated.

But there's still a question of how much green tea you need to drink to reap its health benefits. EGCG is not readily "available" to the body; in other words, EGCG is not always fully used by the body.

"We must overcome the issue of poor bioavailability [and other issues] in order to get the most out of their benefits," says Tak-Hang Chan, PhD, professor emeritus in the department of chemistry at McGill University in Montreal. Chan has studied the use of a synthetic form of EGCG in shrinking prostate cancer tumors in mice, with success.

Green Tea vs. Cancer

Marji McCullough, ScD, RD, the American Cancer Society's strategic director of nutritional epidemiology, says human studies haven't yet proven what researchers like Chan have discovered in the lab: green tea's EGCG regulates and inhibits cancer growth and kills cells that are growing inappropriately.

"Epidemiologically, one of the challenges is finding populations that drink enough green tea and have for a long time," she says. "With cancer, it's always difficult to find the exposure time," or the point at which cancer cells begin to develop.

Still, it's difficult not to be intrigued by a few human studies that have shown that drinking at least two cups of green tea daily inhibits cancer growth.

One of them, a study conducted in Japan that involved nearly 500 Japanese women with Stage I and Stage II breast cancer, found that increased green tea consumption before and after surgery was associated with lower recurrence of the cancers.

Studies in China have shown that the more green tea that participants drank, the less the risk of developing stomach cancer, esophageal cancer, prostate cancer,pancreatic cancer, and colorectal cancer.

Finally, a recent analysis of 22 studies that probed the correlation between high tea consumption and reduced risk forlung cancer concluded that by increasing your daily intake of green (not black) tea by two cups may reduce the risk of developing lung cancer by 18%.

Is Green Tea Good for Your Heart?

It seems to be, but there are conflicting results of a few epidemiological studies conducted in the East and West.

In a study that involved 500 Japanese men and women, researchers found that drinking at least four cups of green tea every day may be related to the reduced severity of coronary heart disease among the male participants.

A Dutch study of more than 3,000 men and women found that the more tea consumed, the less severe the clogging of the heart's blood vessels, especially in women.

As Goldberg suggests, lifestyle and overall diet are critical to the outcomes of these studies.

But green tea's antioxidants are dilators, she says, because they improve the flexibility of blood vessels and make them less vulnerable to clogging -- and antioxidant-rich blueberries and pomegranates do the same.

"I think people should know these are important studies, that everyday foods that are an option may actually have health benefits," Goldberg says. "I think green tea, because of its antioxidant value, may have heart benefits, but it's not something we regularly prescribe to people, because there isn't as much evidence as there is in exercise's ability to improve heart health."

Green Tea and Weight

Green tea and its extract have been shown to fight obesity and lower LDL "bad" cholesterol -- two risk factors for heart disease and diabetes -- but in very limited studies. One study in the Netherlands and a study in Japan showed that green tea did both.

In the Dutch study, participants who drank caffeinated green tea lost more weight, but even those who typically drank the decaf variety saw a decrease in their waistlines and body weight. Researchers speculated that the caffeine helps with fat oxidation.

In the Japanese study, 240 men and women were given varying amounts of green tea extract for three months. Those who got the highest amount lost fat and weight and had lower blood pressure and lower LDL "bad" cholesterol.

Green Tea Straight Up

Taking weight loss supplements that contain green tea extract probably won't hurt, unless you have liver problems.

But the best way to get the most out of green tea -- even if your main goal is losing weight -- is to drink it.

"Taken altogether, the evidence certainly suggests that incorporating at least a few cups of green tea every day will positively affect your health," says Diane McKay, PhD, a Tufts University scientist who studies antioxidants. "It's not going to cure anything and it shouldn't be consumed as a drug, but it can complement the rest of the diet."

McCullough bears the same reminder: eat your fruits, vegetables, grains, seeds, and nuts -- and go ahead, drink as much green tea as you want.

"I don't think it can hurt to drink it. I'd focus on dietary sources rather thansupplements because there are several compounds in green tea that might need to be consumed together. We just don't know yet," she says.

By Julie Edgar

Protein Packed Diet

The who, what, when, where, and why of a high-protein diet. Thinking of hitching your wagon to a new weight-loss craze? In case you haven't heard about the pros of a protein-rich diet, listen up! Adding some protein (quite a bit of it, actually) can help you lose a little weight. But how does it really work, and is it for you?

The Protein Plan

A high-protein diet's main goal is to help you lose weight. Whereas the typical diet consists of 10 to 15 percent of all calories coming from protein, a high-protein diet demands as much as half of your calories come from protein. As a high-protein diet changes your eating habits, it can also change your metabolism.

If you stop eating sufficient carbohydrates and other nutrients, your body can stop burning food for fuel and will instead begin to use your own fat as fuel. This can result in rather rapid weight loss, which sounds pretty good to anyone looking for a quick fix. Unfortunately, this fast and furious pound shedding isn't experienced without some side effects. Irritability, heart palpitations, kidney trouble, headaches, and other problematic symptoms can all result from a diet high in protein and low in other nutrients.

The Protein Participant

When followed for short periods of time, a high-protein diet is usually safe for otherwise healthy adults. However, anyone with kidney or liver disease should avoid high-protein diets, as they put excessive stress on the body's waste removal system, a system that is already damaged due to kidney or liver disease.

High-protein diets are also not ideal for people with high cholesterol or are already at risk for heart disease. Since some foods packed with protein also come with a fair amount of cholesterol and fat, adding even more of these foods into your diet isn't a good idea.

The Protein Predicament

While a high-protein diet may help you lose weight, it is doing it with the same problem that many diets have. Instead of encouraging a healthy, well-rounded diet filled with various foods, a high-protein diet leans heavily on protein-rich foods. As a result, other foods, such as those that are high in carbohydrates, become neglected. Though reducing carbohydrate intake in most people is fine, a drastic reduction in the consumption of any vitamin, mineral, or nutrient is never good for your body.

If you're set on going with a high-protein diet, be careful not to neglect other foods in the process. That way, you'll be more likely to get the results you seek without damaging your body along the way. You should also consult a dietitian to find out the most efficient and healthiest ways to up your protein intake. After all, your goal is to lose weight - not your good health!

Finding the Protein

Looking for a nice piece of protein that will help in your quest for a thinner you? Look no farther than your local butcher! Just remember these tips to make sure your protein won't work against your waistline.

Tip 1: White Poultry Is Good Poultry. Few foods provide the same protein punch as a good piece of chicken - at least not for the money. Just make sure you go for the white meat. Dark meat may be juicier and tastier, but it also comes with added fat. You may also want to cut off the skin, as it has some of that undesirable saturated fat.

Tip 2: Steak Should Be on the Menu. The ultimate protein-rich food is steak. When chosen properly, a lean piece of steak tastes fantastic and gives your body the protein it craves. When chosen poorly, a fatty piece of steak will give your body the protein you seek, but it will be marred by unwanted fats.

Tip 3: A Fish a Day. People in Asian countries have long touted the health benefits of fish. One of the perks of eating fish is the great amount of protein in each bite. Combine that protein with the fact that fish is usually very low in fat, and you've got a protein source that will never do you wrong!

Curry Rubbed Salmon with Napa Slaw

Broiling makes the salmon golden brown without adding fat. To get the best color and a crisp coat, don't turn the fish over while cooking; it will still cook all the way through without this extra step.

Per serving: 597 calories; 45 g protein; 20 g fat; 57 g carb; 6 g fiber
Ingredients

Serves 4
1 cup brown basmati rice
Coarse salt and ground pepper
1 pound Napa cabbage (1/2 head), thinly sliced crosswise
1 pound carrots, coarsely grated
1/2 cup fresh mint leaves
1/4 cup fresh lime juice, plus lime wedges for serving
2 tablespoons grapeseed oil
4 salmon filets (6 ounces each)
2 teaspoons curry powder
Directions

In a large saucepan, bring 2 cups water to a boil; add rice. Season with salt and pepper, cover, and reduce heat to medium-low. Cook until tender, 30 to 35 minutes.
Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine cabbage, carrots, mint, lime juice, and oil; season with salt and pepper. Toss.
Heat broiler with rack set 4 inches from heat. About 10 minutes before rice is done cooking, place salmon on a foil-lined rimmed baking sheet. Rub salmon with curry, and season with salt and pepper. Broil until just cooked through, 6 to 8 minutes. Fluff rice with a fork and serve alongside salad and salmon.

-From Body+Soul, March 2008

Brown Bag It!

Bringing a brown-bag lunch to work has many benefits: Not only do you get foods you like but you can control your portion sizes, boost your nutrition, and save yourself a lot of time and money.

“The benefits of a healthy lunch are enormous,” says Joan Salge Blake, MS, RD, LDN, a spokeswoman for the American Dietetic Association and a clinical associate professor of nutrition at Boston University. When you pack your lunch yourself, you can choose nutritious foods rather than resorting to buying a fat-laden burger and fries, greasy pizza, or other fast food. Portions are more realistic when you bring a brown-bag lunch instead of ordering from a restaurant — and portion size is important because overeating, in addition to eating unhealthy foods, can put you at risk for many illnesses.

There are other advantages as well. “A brown-bag lunch is definitely cheaper, when you think about how much you would spend to go out to lunch every day,” says Blake. “Multiply the price of eating out by five and it’s unbelievably costly.” Brown bagging also makes for an easy lunch and is a timesaver. “By the time you go out, order a sandwich at the deli, come back and eat it,” adds Blake, “that's a lot of wasted time.”

Leftovers and Other Easy Options

Blake likes to cook extra food for dinner and then wrap the leftovers for a healthy lunch the next day. It doesn’t have to be exactly the same meal, she says. You can cut up leftover broiled chicken and roasted vegetables and add them to a salad. Or you can use the chicken and the vegetables in a sandwich on whole-grain bread or stuff them into a whole-wheat pita pocket. “When you cook dinner,” Blake advises, “double or triple the amount of vegetables you would normally make so you’ll have leftovers to make an extra-healthy lunch the next day.”

Lunches should contain some whole grains and some protein — protein in particular makes you feel full. And, Blake adds, “you need a little fat because fat makes food stay in the stomach longer, and it also gives you that feeling of fullness.”

People rarely eat enough fruits and vegetables, so always include them in your brown-bag lunch, Blake advises. “If you don’t make them part of lunch,” she says, “cut up carrot and celery sticks and pack them for a snack.” You can also pair low-fat cheese with cut-up fruit rather than crackers.

In winter, one of Blake’s favorite healthy lunches is a hearty bean soup that she makes at home on the weekend. “Making soup is not as difficult as people think,” she says. “You can make a satisfying bean soup with a can of diced tomatoes, a can of mixed vegetables or a bag of frozen vegetables, a couple of cans of beans, and low-sodium chicken broth. Accompany your lunch portion with a whole-grain roll, a piece of low-fat cheese, and some fruit, and you have a quick and inexpensive lunch that’s full of nutritious food.”

“Yogurt can also be a good part of any lunch,” Blake says. “A cup of yogurt isn’t a meal in itself — you’d be hungry pretty soon afterward. But it’s a great addition to lunch at work.” Add some whole grains or cereals or fresh fruit to your yogurt and it will be an even healthier addition. Also, low-fat yogurt contributes some dairy, which should be incorporated into your diet as a matter of course.

Tips for Lunches That Travel

Here are more suggestions on making brown-bag lunches:

• Be prepared. Make your lunch the night before. In the morning before work, all you have to do is reach in the refrigerator and grab it.
• Assemble at work. Keep the bread and the filling in separate containers until you’re ready to eat. That way your sandwich won’t get soggy. If you like tomatoes on your sandwich, slice them and pack them separately. Add them to the sandwich just before you’re ready to eat.
• Make a hot meal. If you have a microwave at the office, pack your lunch in microwave-safe containers. “Today’s neat plastic containers with dividers are not only microwavable but also reusable,” Blake says.
• Be creative. You’ll tire of lunch if you bring the same thing every day. Shake things up: Have a salad one day, soup and a sandwich another — and don’t forget the leftovers. Dinner menus usually change from day to day, so using leftovers from dinner a couple of times a week is an easy way to add variety.

It doesn’t take much effort to pack a healthy lunch to take to work, and it has many benefits, including saving you time and guaranteeing that your lunch will be nutritious. Also, the menu is sure to be one that you like.

Toenail Troubles

Dealing with some of the most common issues that affect your toenails.

One of the smallest visible parts of your body, your toenails can cause some major pain and embarrassment. While they may not seem to serve any immediate purpose, treating them as unimportant is a mistake that could cause lasting issues.
What do you need to protect your toenails from?

Bacterial Infections

Usually caused by damage to the nail or the skin surrounding the nail, bacterial infections result in swelling, redness, and pain around the nails. Occasionally, the infection is accompanied by a green discoloration of the nail. Treatment often includes antibiotic medication and medical draining of the swollen area surrounding the nail. Not treating the infection will allow it to grow and potentially spread to other toenails.

Fungus

More common than bacterial infections, fungal infections are frequently inherited and cause abnormal nail growth and discoloration. The best treatment for fungal infection is oral medication. However, nail fungus occasionally responds to topical lotions, gels, or creams. Untreated fungal infection can also result in damage to other toenails over time.

Ingrown Toenails

An ingrown toenail is easy to diagnose. When the edge of a toenail angles down into the surrounding skin, it's an ingrown toenail. Sometimes painful, sometimes inducing infection, ingrown toenails can be avoided by cutting your toenails properly (straight across instead of at an angle), wearing properly fitting shoes, and standing on your feet correctly. Quick medical treatment can prevent long-term complications.

Many nail injuries heal on their own while you go about your daily life.Medical attention is necessary if you notice a white or black line in your toenail, the color or shape of your nail changes, you see dents or ridges in the nail, or the skin surrounding a toenail becomes swollen or painful.

Splinters

They look like red or reddish-brown splinters under the nail, and they appear when damage occurs to the blood vessels housed in the nail bed. Known as splinter hemorrhages, these toenail problems are usually caused by nail trauma, though certain diseases and medications can bring them on. If you're unsure what the cause of your splinter hemorrhage is, contact your physician to get to the root of your problem.

Warts

Found in any and all areas of the nail, toenail warts can result in the toenail plate becoming disfigured. In the event the wart begins to grow so much that it prevents natural nail growth, the toenail can be completely destroyed.

Treatment of toenail warts typically requires freezing the wart, using chemicals to destroy the wart, or surgical intervention to remove the wart.

White Spots

Jam your toe on a door or drop a heavy box on your foot and you may wind up with small white spots on your toenails. For the most part, these white spots resolve themselves in a matter of days. But if white spots begin showing up on your feet and you don't recall injuring your toenails, the spots may be an indication of a medical condition, such as an infection. Proper screening by your physician can ensure your condition doesn't worsen.

Not Just the Feet

Think your toenails only affect your foot health? Think again. Poor toenail health can be an indication of some other serious conditions affecting many parts of the body. Here are some of the most serious.

• Pale nail beds can indicate anemia.
• Red nail beds can indicate a heart condition.
• Half-pink, half-white nail beds can indicate kidney disease.
• White nails can indicate liver disease.
• Yellow, thick nails can indicate lung disease.
• A blush at the base of yellow nails can indicate diabetes.

If you have any of these discolorations, ask your physician whether you're at risk for other conditions that reach well beyond your feet.

Eating With Cancer

A nutrition guide for those dealing with the trials and tribulations of cancer.

Cancer changes everything. It changes how you view the world, how your hair grows, and how you relate to people. It also changes your dietary needs.

If you or someone you love is battling cancer, maintaining a healthy diet is vital for making it through treatment and coming out ready for life. How should you eat if you find yourself going through cancer treatment?

Before Treatment

When you learn you're going to require some sort of treatment for cancer, you'll need to examine your daily eating habits. Drop any foods that don't build up your body's strength and immune system and go heavy on the fruits and vegetables. While you may be used to eating low-calorie meals, that will need to change before beginning cancer treatment. Go with healthy, high-calorie foods and fill up on protein-heavy items as well.

Regardless of what treatment you receive, your body will go through some sort of trauma. Building it up to be as strong as possible prior to treatment will help your body recover once treatment begins. You should also talk with your physician to determine if you currently have any nutritional deficiencies. Correcting these before beginning treatment will help your body stay as strong as possible in the coming weeks and months.

During Treatment

There are a few concerns when going through cancer treatment. One is infection, which can affect patients through tainted meats or germy foods that are not cooked properly. Another is a loss of appetite that prevents you from getting the nutrients your body needs. For times when you lose your desire to eat a certain food, try going for another food that offers the same benefits (swap peanut butter for meat, etc). If that doesn't work, you may need to have nutrients injected into your body intravenously or with other techniques. It may be inconvenient, but it is a much better option than not getting the vitamins and minerals your body requires to recover from surgery, chemotherapy, or radiation therapy.

You should also talk with your doctor if you're considering dietary supplements during treatment, especially those rich with antioxidants. Though antioxidants are usually smiled upon, many oncologists prefer patients avoid them during treatment, as they can reduce the effectiveness of radiation therapy or chemotherapy.

After Treatment

For the most part, you can expect the side effects of cancer treatment to wear off after treatment is completed. However, in the event you continue to suffer from a poor appetite, dry mouth, or other side effects of chemotherapy and radiation therapy, you'll need to work extra hard to rebuild your body's strength. Being diligent and staying in close contact with your physician about your eating habits will help you regain a healthy appetite and diet.

If you regain your appetite after cancer treatment, be sure to get plenty of fruits, vegetables, and whole-wheat foods in your diet, and try adding as many anti-oxidant-rich foods to your diet as possible. As cancer treatment can change how foods taste to you, you may also want to begin experimenting with foods you didn't like before. Pick up a piece of fruit or a vegetable you didn't like before and give it a try. It may just be your new favorite food!

Fixing the Flavor

When you're undergoing cancer treatment, some of your favorite dishes may taste horrible to you and something with a sprinkle of salt will taste like a bucket of salt. If this happens to you, try these tips to improve the flavor of foods and increase your desire to eat them.

• Use a little bit of sugar to cut down the excess salt flavor you may find in some foods.
• Instead of eating meat plain (like in a hamburger or steak), mix it up in spaghetti sauce, casseroles, or soup to make the meat taste a little better.
• Add colorful touches, such as a lemon wedge or orange slice, to enhance the flavors of your foods.
• Ask your physician about mouth rinses or medications that can help reduce bad tastes in your mouth and make eating more enjoyable.

Best Spinach Salad Ever

The first thing that you'll notice about this salad is that it tastes amazing. It also doesn't hurt that spinach is an extremely nutrient-dense food. The recipe calls for raspberry vinegar, which is a flavorful and refreshing alternative to traditional, oily dressing. The fruit and nuts add flavor, fiber and healthy fat.
Servings: 8

Here's what you need:

• 8 cups cleaned spinach leaves
• 3 oranges, peeled, sliced and quartered
• 2 cucumbers, peeled sliced and quartered
• 1/8 cup macadamia nuts, coarsely chopped
• 1/8 cup sunflower seeds
• 2 Tablespoons poppy seeds
• 1 cup strawberries, sliced or whole raspberries
• 1/2 cup white balsamic raspberry blush vinegar

1. Combined the spinach, oranges, cucumbers, macadamia nuts, sunflower seeds, poppy seeds and strawberries in a bowl.
2. Add the vinegar and toss well.

Nutritional Analysis: One serving equals: 99 calories, 3g fat, 14g carbohydrate, 2.6g fiber, and 3.5g protein.

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Pan-Seared Scallops with Cilantro-Celery Mayonnaise

Scallops cook quickly. When done, they should feel soft and resilient to the touch. They should also flake easily when tested with a fork and appear moist inside.

Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 5 ounces scallops, 1 tablespoon mayonnaise mixture, and 1 lime wedge)

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup low-fat mayonnaise
• 2 tablespoons minced celery
• 2 teaspoons minced fresh cilantro
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• Cooking spray
• 1 1/2 pounds sea scallops
• 1/4 cup Italian-seasoned breadcrumbs
• 4 lime wedges

Preparation

Combine first 5 ingredients.

Heat the oil in a large nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat. Dredge the scallops in breadcrumbs. Add scallops to pan, and cook 4 minutes. Turn scallops, and cook 3 minutes or until done. Serve with mayonnaise mixture and lime wedges.

Nutritional Information

Calories:

216 (16% from fat)

Fat:

3.8g (sat 0.3g,mono 0.9g,poly 0.5g)

Protein:

29.3g

Carbohydrate:

14.7g

Fiber:

0.8g

Cholesterol:

56mg

Iron:

0.8mg

Sodium:

743mg

Calcium:

58mg

Cooking Light, SEPTEMBER 2003

Losing Your Love Handles

Because as you know, they're not nearly as cute as their name implies

They sit naturally on your hips and turn your otherwise picture-perfect physique into something of a pear. So what can you do to kick those love handles to the curve? You may be surprised to learn that all it takes is a couple exercises you're probably already doing and a few others.

Crunches. They're nothing new to your exercise routine, and they shouldn't be forgotten when you're in the gym next. In addition to straight-forward crunches, twist to the left and the right to work out the entire abdominal area and to help your body ward off love handles that show up on both sides.

Standing Trunk Twists. As effective as the name is fun to say, standing trunk twists do what any good love-handle-battling exercise should do: firms up the love handles and gets you sweating. To perform this exercise, stand with your feet a foot or so apart and your knees relaxed and slightly bent. Next, twist your body's trunk to the left, while attempting to keep your hips and legs still. During your trunk twist, swing your right arm across the front of your body, as if you were punching someone. Immediately twist to the right, bringing your left arm across your body in a punching motion. Repeat up to 100 times.

Leg Flutters. You may feel awkward with this exercise, but the end results are worth it. To get started, lie flat on your stomach with your arms down by your side. Lift your head off the ground and look straight ahead. Finally, lift your feet and knees off the floor, kick (flutter) your legs back and forth for 20 seconds, stop, and repeat for another 20 seconds.

Love Language

As you suspect, love handles aren't always called love handles. In the medical and muscle community, they're known as the oblique muscles. So when you find yourself face to face with a personal trainer or physician, you'll know what that big word means!

Side Bends. One of the best exercises for targeting those troublesome love handles, side bends are relatively easy to perform. Standing straight, feet shoulder-width apart with a dumbbell in your left hand, bend to the left as far as possible. Once you hit the lowest part of your bend, raise back to the standing position. Repeat 15 or 20 times, switch the dumbbell to your right hand and bend to the right for 15 or 20 repetitions.

Knee Kicks. Want to get a little tougher while you kiss your sweet little love handles goodbye? Go find a punching bag and put both hands flat on the bag, with one hand approximately two feet above the other. Next, lift your back leg and knee the bag as hard as possible. Return to your starting position and repeat 20 times. Change your position and repeat with the other knee. By the time you're done, your love handles will be burning their way into nothingness, and your self-esteem will be shooting through the roof.

Now that you know what exercises will tone up your midsection, there's something else you should know. You can't get rid of your love handles just by doing crunches and knee kicks. Those exercises will help tone your muscles, but they won't force those little areas of fat known as love handles to disappear. To do that, you're going to have to burn more calories than you eat each day. The easiest way to do this is to get plenty of aerobic exercise and to eat low-calorie meals filled with fresh fruits and vegetables. With these steps, you'll be prepared to show off the hips and abdominals you've worked so hard to tighten up!