Amy Campbell

There’s been a lot of news and hype over the past few years about the gut. A word that comes up frequently in the media these days is “microbiome…”

Can Ezekiel bread and whey protein fit into a diabetes a meal plan? Read my opinions on these two popular food items…

This week, I’ll discuss chia pudding and bulletproof coffee. Are they good for us? Read my verdicts and decide if you agree or not…

Being a native New Englander, I’m beginning to brace myself for the cold weather ahead. I admit — I’m not a big fan of frigid temperatures, sleet, or snow, but one thing I really can appreciate about the big chill is soup. Soup has a lot of good things going for it, but not all soups are created equally nutrition-wise…

In my years as a dietitian, I’ve talked with plenty of people who have told me that they just don’t have a taste for fruits or vegetables or whole grains or skim milk, for example. But might it be possible for people to learn to like foods that are good for them and turn off their taste buds for the less healthy foods? Scientists seems to think so…

Roughly 60% to 70% of people with diabetes have some form of neuropathy (nerve damage); the risk for the condition increases the longer you’ve had diabetes. Not surprisingly, good nutrition can go a long way in helping both to prevent and manage neuropathy…

You’re cleaning out your refrigerator (when was the last time you actually did that?) and come across unopened containers of food that look and smell OK. But are they safe to eat? How do you know for sure?

Salads are a mainstay for many people, and summertime is the perfect time to savor them. There are many reasons to enjoy a salad, and if you happen to frequent a farmer’s market or have a vegetable garden, it’s very tempting to throw one together…

Yogurt is one of those foods that you just can’t say enough about. Yes, I’ve written about it in the past (several different times), but it seems like there’s always something to share about its health benefits…

With July Fourth coming up in a few days, we’re finally into the swing of summer. And summertime often means cookouts, barbecues, and picnics. As you enjoy the warm weather festivities, don’t forget about those vegetables!

It’s pretty interesting how much the “health halo effect” has infiltrated our lives. Brian Wansink, a researcher at Cornell, has studied this and found that “healthful” claims on foods really do get people to eat more…

Organic. Non-GMO. Healthy. All-natural. Trans-fat-free. Gluten-free. Low-carb. These are terms that we’re seeing more and more in grocery stores, at farmer’s markets, in restaurants, and even in fast-food establishments. But as the saying goes “buyer beware…”

Last week I touched upon some of the updated nutrition recommendations that were recently released by the American Diabetes Association. I appreciate all of the comments, and I can understand why guidelines can seem vague…

If you like to keep up with the latest and greatest in diabetes, you might like to know that last October, new nutrition recommendations for adults with diabetes were issued by the American Diabetes Association (ADA)…

Years ago, nutrition recommendations for people with diabetes were essentially to avoid sugar as much as possible, based on the thinking that sugar would send blood glucose levels through the roof. Well, that notion was pretty much disproven…

We’ve been hearing for a long time now that fish and other types of seafood are good for us. Current recommendations tell us to aim to eat “two fish meals a week.” But fish has some fishy aspects to it, like mercury. And what about all that cholesterol in shellfish? Do fish sticks count towards your two weekly fish meals? Let’s find out the facts about fish…

This week, from February 23 to March 1, is National Eating Disorders Awareness Week. You might be ready to tune out and skip reading this — after all, only women get eating disorders, right?

Last week my sister told me about a coworker of hers who recently lost weight by “clean eating.” I admit, I’m not an expert in this area, but I’ve heard of this movement and it got me wondering. Is eating “clean” is just another fad or trend, or is it something that’s not only here to stay, but that can help people with diabetes?

Did anyone try freekeh, the grain that I wrote about last week? I have yet to try it, but it’s on my list! In the meantime, there are plenty of other grains to enjoy…

Last week I wrote about some food trends to keep an eye on for the year ahead. In it, I mentioned two grains that I suspect a lot of you have little to no knowledge about…

Are you a trendsetter? Do you like to keep up with the latest and greatest? Is your middle name “Foodie”? If so, or even if you’re merely curious, read on to find out what 2014 has in store for food and nutrition…

And you thought the holidays were over! Not quite. January 6 is known as National Bean Day…

‘Tis the season for visions of sugarplums dancing in your head…and lurking in your food, too. It’s virtually impossible to completely avoid sugar. However, too much of a good thing isn’t all that good…

Last week, I wrote about calories: what they are and how to figure out how many you need. I’m not sure how many of you thought about your own calorie needs over this past week. Were you curious?

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday. No doubt, you enjoyed some familiar favorites: turkey, stuffing, gravy, potatoes…perhaps a slice of pie. And you probably thought, at least a little bit, about how much you were eating…

That time of the year is upon us: the “holidays.” Holidays are fun, but this season can come with side effects, including colds and flu, heartburn, upset stomach, headaches, muscle aches, and fatigue…

Fat is a necessary nutrient, and we need it to sustain health. But it’s also had its share of hard knocks in the past, and many people (including some dietitians) are still leery about promoting its goodness…

What’s your take on gluten? Have you cut it out of your diet? Do you scour the grocery store for gluten-free foods? If so, you’re not alone…

One of the joys (and burdens) of being a dietitian is the feedback that I get about the merits and pitfalls of various types of diets…

Because food is so fascinating, there’s never a shortage of things to say about it. Let’s look at some more food “weirdness” this week…

The title of this week’s posting is weird, isn’t it? What’s so weird about food, anyway? As it turns out, a lot…

People who have IBS will tell you that sometimes the above approaches work for them, and sometimes they don’t. But thanks to researchers from Australia, a newer approach is available that may help the millions of IBS sufferers get a little more relief…

Just when you thought you had the whole fat thing down, along comes another type of fat to think about. This fat (actually, fatty acid) is known as omega-7, and you might consider it to be a cousin of the omega-3 fatty acids (sometimes referred to as fish oils, although they’re found in plants, too)…

Due to popular demand, I’ll conclude my series on sweeteners by writing about stevia…

Due to popular demand, I’ve decided to extend my series and focus this week on another standby, aspartame…

Thanks to all who submitted comments and questions on last week’s posting about Splenda. This week, I’ll focus on the other sweetener made by McNeil Nutritionals called Nectresse.

Recently, I’ve received some questions and comments about artificial sweeteners, especially Splenda. So I thought I’d take this opportunity to write about Splenda and also to highlight a fairly new sweetener to the market called Nectresse…

After I wrote last week’s posting, I came across more information on how nutrition and diet may help lower the risk for prostate cancer, so I’ll share that this week…

Our fondness for all things sweet is ingrained in us. References to our desire for foods like honey date back thousands of years. And there’s nothing wrong with that, unless you happen to indulge a little too often. There’s also the dilemma that some people face regarding whether to use a “nonnutritive” (noncaloric) sweetener, such as aspartame or sucralose, or something more “natural” (including real sugar)…

At a time when it seems like we’re constantly being told what NOT to eat, it’s refreshing to know that there are so many healthful, nutritious foods that are available for our enjoyment. So, without further ado, here are a few more for your consideration!

Meet with a dietitian and one of the first questions you might ask him is, “What should I eat?” The answer, in part, lies in the reason for seeing him in the first place. Most dietitians will tell you to eat a variety of foods from all of the food groups, but there are also some particular standouts that you might want to make an extra effort to add to your repertoire…

When was the last time you really paid attention to what you were eating? Do you remember what you ate? How it tasted? How it smelled?

It’s not exactly news that that tea has a number of health benefits. The “real” tea, from the Camellia sinensis plant comes in four varieties: green, white, oolong, and black. Recently, other types of “tea” have become trendy…

At the end of the year, articles and predictions abound on what the latest, greatest, or hottest food trends will be for the upcoming year. Of course there are also food trends for 2013, and now that we’re into February, a few are worth mentioning…

Are you a vegan? Vegetarian? Or are you not quite ready or willing to give up meat? That’s OK. But what if, for one day out of the week, you were to totally avoid meat and basically eat plant-based meals? That’s not asking too, much, right?

Hopefully you all had an enjoyable and relaxing Thanksgiving holiday. And hopefully you didn’t overindulge too much, but if you did, you’re getting back on track. If you ate a “traditional” Thanksgiving meal (plus leftovers), which usually includes turkey, gravy, stuffing, and the rest of the fixings, chances are you got more than your fair share of sodium…

Over the past two weeks, I’ve highlighted some of the big players (bacteria and viruses) that lurk in our food. I’m thinking that you get the message and you probably don’t want to hear more! But it’s a topic of importance for everyone, especially people with diabetes…

Forty-eight million Americans get sick every year by eating contaminated food. The reality is that we all have to eat, and it doesn’t pay to be scared to put food in our mouths. Food safety, though, is something we all need to be aware of…

The last thing you want to do is have to worry about becoming ill from something that you ate or drank. But with Hurricane Sandy paving a path of destruction along the East Coast and knocking out power to millions of homes, and with the holidays coming up, it’s a good idea to brush up on keeping your food safe from nasty little organisms…

No, this week’s posting isn’t about growing old. Rather, it’s about yet another factor to consider when trying to eat healthfully…

Last week I highlighted a few foods that traditionally have gotten a bad rap, including popcorn, eggs, and potatoes. These are foods that people, for one reason or another, often seem to think they need to avoid. Hopefully I helped to dispel some of that thinking…

If you ever have talked with a dietitian about food (and why wouldn’t you?), you’ve likely heard him say one or both of these famous catchphrases: “All foods can fit” or “everything in moderation.” To many people, including myself at times, these words start to sound like a broken record. But they really do ring true…

If you thought fashion was subject to trends, you should take a look at diets. A couple of weeks ago I wrote about the raw food diet. This week, I’ll focus on what’s called the “alkaline diet,” which is sometimes called the “alkaline acid diet…”

Given that we’ve been talking about organic and raw foods over the past few weeks, I thought it might be a good time to bring up the subject of GMO foods…

After writing about organic foods for the past two weeks, I decided to follow up with a somewhat related topic: the raw food diet…

Last week I laid out the basics of organic foods — what they are and how they’re defined. I’m curious — how many of you bought or ate organic produce this past weekend?

Walk into the produce section of your local supermarket, and you’ll see organic fruits and vegetables sitting alongside the “regular” fruits and veggies. And it’s not only in the produce section. But there’s still some confusion and mystery behind the term “organic.” Just what does it mean? And are these foods really better for you?

There’s a month for everything, and this month, we celebrate the hamburger. Americans eat close to 40 million burgers every day, but can burgers really be part of a healthy eating plan? Sure. As with any food, it’s a matter of knowing how (and how much) to squeeze it in…

Over the past two weeks, we’ve taken a closer look at probiotics, those gut-friendly bugs that hold much promise in keeping us healthy and possibly even preventing illness and disease…

Last week we started to look at probiotics, those friendly and helpful bacteria that reside in the digestive tract. Hopefully you didn’t feel too squeamish about this…

We’re a country that shuns bacteria. So it’s probably hard to imagine that there are bacteria that are really quite friendly — so friendly, in fact, that they work hard at keeping us healthy and keeping illness and disease at bay. Where are these bacteria, you ask? Right inside you…

Back by popular demand! I thought I’d expand upon the food synergy concept a little more this week and highlight other food combinations that really give you a bang for your buck from a nutritional standpoint…

All this talk about supplements over the past few weeks got me thinking that it was time to put some focus back on food…

The use of vitamins and minerals is always worthy of a good discussion. Like many of you, I get frustrated with all of stories that come out about what to take, what not to take, what can cause this or lead to a problem with that. What many of these “studies” tell us is that we still don’t know an awful lot about what vitamins and minerals can do for us…

Ah, if only vitamins and minerals could live up to all of the claims about them: We’d be young, healthy, happy, wrinkle-free, and never have a cold again. If only that were the case…

“Leaky gut” doesn’t have a whole lot to do with diabetes, but it’s a condition that is becoming more and more commonly recognized by both alternative and traditional medicinal practitioners, so it’s something that you may want to familiarize yourself with…

If you describe yourself as a foodie, or even if you don’t, but you still are interested in food and nutrition, you might be curious about food trends for 2012…

Raise your hand if you currently eat or have ever eaten cereal. I wouldn’t be surprised if most of you raised your hand. Back in 2005, Good Morning America conducted a poll and found that 60% of Americans eat breakfast, and of those 60%, about 40% eat either hot or cold cereal. If you’re a Seinfeld fan, you probably remember the episode when Jerry’s girlfriend ate cereal for all three meals…

It seems like every year, when the fall and winter holidays roll around, I write about how to “get through” them, whether it’s making better food choices, finding ways to fit in more physical activity, or checking blood glucose levels more often to see how things are going. I began to wonder if I was repeating myself every year…

Last week I wrote about coconut water. I’m curious — how many of you drink coconut water, or have at least tried it? As I mentioned in my posting, I’m not a big fan of it. But unless you’re guzzling down glass after glass of this tropical beverage, there are really no major harmful ramifications. But what about coconut oil?

In my experience, people either really love coconut or they shy away from it altogether. Lately, though, coconut has received a lot of attention, and not just in the baking or confectionary world…

Water has got to be one of the most boring beverages there is. Now don’t get me wrong — I love water, and we wouldn’t survive without it. I mean no disrespect. But water is tasteless, colorless, and odorless and, in general, has nothing in it (provided it’s clean, of course). How exciting is that?

Halloween is here, despite the nor’easter that we had this weekend. It feels like we should be getting ready for Christmas rather than trick-or-treating. Nevertheless, it is the season…for Halloween, that is, and while the kids may be munching on loads of sugar and chocolate, you can be enjoying your own Halloween treats that just happen to be a little healthier for you…

How many of you have been told somewhere along the line that white foods are bad for you? When you think of “white” foods, you probably conjure up images of white flour, white bread, white pasta, white rice, sugar, and perhaps even those little snack cakes that are yellow with white frosting…

Milk drinkers seem to be a thing of the past. Growing up, I remember having to drink milk every night with my dinner, and that habit stayed with me long after I started living on my own. I don’t drink milk as much now, although I do use it on my cereal and enjoy a cup of hot chocolate on a cold day. Like other carbohydrate foods, though, milk has somewhat of a bad reputation, depending on who you talk to…

All of you gardeners out there are probably reaping the benefits of your harvest right about now. Even if you don’t have a garden, hopefully you’ve been taking advantage of all the wonderful vegetables from farm stands, farmer’s markets, and even the produce section of your grocery store. Nothing tastes quite like a homegrown tomato, that’s for sure…