This mac ‘n cheese ad looks like a perfectly normal ad, right? Lusciously tempting food pic + catchy tagline. You see it, it registers, but likely as not it “goes in one ear (or eye) and out the other.” At least that’s what we think happens. The creators of these ads are not stupid. There … Read more
With grocery prices front and center in the news, who doesn’t want to save a few dollars? Here’s a simple way to save both dollars and your health: Steer clear of the snack aisles. In almost all cases, snack foods are highly processed (i.e., ultra-processed) and provide little in the way of nutrition or, more … Read more
You might remember this post: “Do You Put Antifreeze on Your Skin? In Your Mouth?” That article explained how propylene glycol, an ingredient in anti-freeze, is also used in both cosmetics and food. Since posting that article, I’ve run into a couple readers who mentioned that they were now taking a closer look at ingredient … Read more
How Does This Happen to Smart People? (Part 3: Learnings from a Garlic Party) This is part of a continuing series on Food Marketing that explores why we need a different kind of smarts to stay healthy in an unhealthy food environment, i.e., “marketing-smarts.” (Find Part 2 in the series here) A few days ago … Read more
This is part of a continuing series on Food Marketing Shenanigans that explores: How does it happen that when it comes to food, smart people are often not so very smart? It’s because we need a different kind of smarts to stay healthy in an unhealthy food environment, i.e., “marketing-smarts.” Ingredient Listings: The best defense … Read more
This post is part of a continuing series on Food Marketing Shenanigans that explores: How does it happen that when it comes to food, smart people are often not so very smart? It’s because we need a different kind of smarts to stay healthy in an unhealthy food environment, i.e., “marketing-smarts.” (Find Part 1 in … Read more
Are you a smart person? What kind of question is that?!! Of course we’re all smart people. So how is it that when it comes to food, we’re often not so very smart: Uncritically trusting what food companies tell us about their products. Trusting that if something is on the grocery store shelf, it must … Read more
A previous post talked about the importance of good eating support. The underlying point was this: If you want to be a healthy eater, you’ll get very little to no support from our food culture. But you’ll get plenty of support and even powerful encouragement to be an UN-healthy eater. Hence the need for assembling … Read more
Earlier this summer I had a classic “post-college-finals crash.” After closing a big house sale, I turned into a pile of mush, unable to do much besides stare out the window. Of course the workaholic part of me demanded that I get up and do something productive. But fortunately, I got calls from each of … Read more
This is the last article in a series devoted to ultra-processed foods or UPFs. I’ve written about them for a while because I feel so strongly that they are the root cause of our healthy eating deficiencies. Hopefully, you can see their dangers and feel motivated to start transitioning away from them, step by small … Read more