Ask a Nutritionist

If you are making changes in your daily meal plan to include more fiber and reach  25 grams per day, there’s no better time than summer to make it happen.  Even summer picnics and celebrations offer opportunity to include more fiber-filled foods in the form of fruits and vegetables.  Here are a few tips and…Read More

Looking forward to summer’s harvest? Don’t overlook the fresh and flavorful spring crops. Loaded with nutrition – fiber included – spring crops boast leafy greens, their cruciferous cousins, and overwintered root vegetables among other things. Spring into these early season vegetables and get warmed up for summer’s wholesome treats that are just around the corner.

Stroll the aisles of any store and you are sure to feel overwhelmed by the quantity and variety of “healthy food” bars.  Many bars are marketed as healthy snack or meal replacement products. Fiber bars, in particular, are highlighted as supplements to healthy diets. However, while their nutrition fact labels may indicate a boost of…Read More

It seems like many of my clients have heard the phrase “Fiber helps lower cholesterol,” but when asked, “Do you know how?” I’m answered with blank stares! In my practice, many adults seek my nutrition advice for a primary diagnosis such as weight management or a gastrointestinal or endocrine disorder, and then casually mention blood…Read More

Mealtimes are a priority for many families, and also not easy to execute. Work, school, and activity schedules are frequent barriers to consistent meals. At the same time, even at just an average of twenty minutes in length, the benefits of family meals are considerable. Consider these five basic plans to make shared meals a…Read More

If you are healthy, active and energetic, but live with chronic constipation, you may not need to look any further than your local grocery for a realistic solution.  Food – plant foods in particular – can be a safe and effective solution for constipation.   Fiber is medicine What is it about plant foods that…Read More

Dietary fiber (the kind you eat) is an exceedingly important nutrient found in plants that our bodies do not digest. Unlike most foods, fiber is not absorbed. Rather, it passes through the digestive tract creating bulk, and moving waste out of the body. While this doesn’t sound like top priority, it’s hard to account for…Read More

Bowel management.  It’s not necessarily the most pleasant phrase to ever be written, however, whether we like it or not, it is something that everyone deals with on a daily basis.  What is bowel management?  It is finding the right balance of regularity between loose stools and constipation.  We are all familiar with the commercials…Read More

The air is getting cooler and the daylight hours getting shorter.  What better way to enjoy the midseason of fall than with a bowl of hot soup, chili, or stew. The recipes here are easy and inexpensive to make, can be doubled or tripled depending on the crowd, and store well for leftovers.   Not to…Read More

There are numerous benefits to ensuring we consume plenty of fiber in our daily diets = from blood glucose regulation to weight management to cholesterol reduction and cancer prevention. And these are just a few of the benefits. Experts recommend 25 – 35 grams of fiber per day, ideally from whole and unprocessed foods –…Read More