They say a picture is worth a thousand words, so I’m starting today’s article with a picture—well, technically a graph. Take a look at this chart (based on CDC data) showing US obesity rates over the last 70 years. Notice anything? When the powers that be rolled out the first-ever Dietary Guidelines for Americans—coincidentally the same year I graduated high school—our collective waistlines began to balloon. Methinks the “experts” may have steered us wrong....

  Before I get into today’s message, I’d like to take a moment on this Veterans Day to honor two veterans who are especially dear to me—my father and my son-in-law. My dad has since passed, but I’ll always be grateful to him for leaving high school as a football star in his senior year to join the Navy and fight in World War II. And my son-in-law (Danielle’s husband) proudly served in the U.S. Army....

  As of this writing, a staggering 120 million American adults have high blood pressure (hypertension). That’s nearly half of us! Even more alarming, hypertension isn’t just an adult issue anymore—it’s on the rise among young adults and even children. Currently: About 23% of young adults (ages 18–39) have high blood pressure. Among children 8 to 19 years old, 8.7% have elevated blood pressure, and 5.4% have full-blown hypertension. I’m old enough to remember when high...

  I once read an article about weight loss written by an MD. In it she mentioned that about 72 percent of Americans want to lose weight, and the average goal was 40 pounds. The challenge, she stated, is that only 14 percent of people who have lost weight have been able to keep it off for more than five years. But then the rest of the article suggests cutting calories to lose weight. Sorry,...

  I think it’s safe to say that most people appreciate the importance of eating healthy foods…regardless of whether they actually do it. 😊 But many people’s understandings of what foods are healthy are frequently influenced by clever food company advertisements and slanted studies. And unfortunately, many of the foods touted as “good for you” are anything but. Here are eight of the most common: 1- Farmed fish Fish provides omega-3 fatty acids which fight...