Monthly Archives: January 2012
The New MyPlate – A Step In The Right Direction
As a registered dietitian and certified trainer, one of the most common questions I get is “What should I eat?” To me, that’s a clear indicator that people are getting mixed messages about nutrition, despite the plethora of information out there. Well, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s new MyPlate, which essentially replaces the food guide pyramid, is certainly a step in the right direction. After all, how do you translate colored slivers of a pyramid to actual food choices?
The MyPlate icon does have few shortcomings, in my opinion, but I’ll discuss that a bit later. First, let’s focus on the positive. I love the message to fill half your plate with fruits and veggies and I must say – I’ve been giving this advice for some time now. EVERYONE would benefit from doing that, and it’s NOT just because fruits and veggies are more nutritious. That’s a no-brainer. The fact of the matter is, IF you did this, you’d fill up on fewer calories and you’d stay full longer, which translates to easier weight control. And who doesn’t want that? Weight loss is hard enough. Another message the new icon sends is to eat balanced meals. That is, Read the rest of this entry
How Yoga Can Wreck Your Body
On a cold Saturday in early 2009, Glenn Black, a yoga teacher of nearly four decades, whose devoted clientele includes a number of celebrities and prominent gurus, was giving a master class at Sankalpah Yoga in Manhattan. Black is, in many ways, a classic yogi: he studied in Pune, India, at the institute founded by the legendary B. K. S. Iyengar, and spent years in solitude and meditation. He now lives in Rhinebeck, N.Y., and often teaches at the nearby Omega Institute, a New Age emporium spread over nearly 200 acres of woods and gardens. He is known for his rigor and his down-to-earth style. But this was not why I sought him out: Black, I’d been told, was the person to speak with if you wanted to know not about the virtues of yoga but rather about the damage it could Read the rest of this entry
