A holistic lifestyle is more than just eating organic foods and practicing yoga from time to time. It means paying attention to all aspects of your life: relationships, career, health and spirituality to be sure that you are living a life in balance. This might mean making some adjustments. The important thing to realize is they are not quick fixes.

Take a minute now to think about all areas of your life:

Relationships: Are you surrounded by people who stimulate you? Do your friends and romantic partner make you laugh and are they kind to you? Are there people you can be spending more time with or less time with? Make an effort to spend more time with those who fill your life with joy.

Career: Are you satisfied with your day-to-day job? Do you feel challenged by your boss and your coworkers? Do you feel that you are compensated well for your hard work? Are you happy more than you are stressed-out? Make a list of the things you love about your job and the things that you do not.

Spirituality: Do you have a spiritual practice? This can be anything from meditating to going to church on a regular basis.

Health: Pay attention to the foods you eat. Do you enjoy whole grains, fruits and vegetables every day? How often do you consume junk food? When you crave sweets write down what you are doing. Sometimes when we crave junk food it means that something else in our lives is out of balance.

Everyone could nourish their relationships, career, spirituality and health a little more. By nourishing all aspects of your life you will live a healthier and happier life. What are you going to do today?

Tags: Uncategorized by Joshua Rosenthal
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Meat is one of those foods that cause a lot of controversy. For years many people chose to not eat meat for ethical reasons. Now it seems more people are abstaining from eating meat products because of the significant impacts it has on the environment and health reasons.

Meat does provide a lot of essential vitamins like zinc, iron and B12, but you can find these vitamins in other food sources like grains and leafy green vegetables. When you consume animal food it might make you feel more grounded than vegetables or fruit. Some people feel more powerful, have higher self-esteem and confidence. Do you notice how you feel after eating chicken or beef?

The decision about whether or not to eat meat is a personal one and one that might change several times over the course of your life. This is totally okay. You may decide to eat more meat during your younger years to have more energy and to feel more ground, but then later on decide that you want to consume a cleaner diet of just whole grains, vegetables and fruit.

If you choose that meat works for your body it is best to stick to small quantities of high-quality organic meat. It is also advised that you switch up the type of meat that you eat. Most Americans consume beef which is linked to many health related diseases. Try duck, chicken, lamb or fish.

Have you recently decided to incorporate meat into your diet or that meat really doesn’t make you feel good? Let us know!

Tags: Food, Healthy Tips by Joshua Rosenthal
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As much as we would like to eat only when we’re hungry, sometimes we eat just because the food is there. Sometimes you tell yourself that you’re only going to have one cookie and then before you know it all of the cookies in the cookie jar are gone. Susan Roberts PhD, author of The Instinct Diet, refers to this as the “availability instinct.” She says, “having food readily available can trigger hormonal and nervous system activity that makes us hungry—even if we’ve just finished a fancy five-course dinner.” She goes on to say that often we’ll overeat even if something doesn’t taste good. Can you relate to this feeling?

Even though many of us may be susceptible to this “availability instinct” there are ways to change this behavior so it does not hurt your health.

Stay hydrated. Oftentimes when we feel the need to snack and snack and snack some more it is because we are thirsty. Before you look to the pantry or refrigerator for comfort drink a tall glass of water.

Relax. Unhealthy eating often happens when we’re stressed out or rushing from one event to another. Sit down and take a minute to do some deep breathing exercises.

Keep fruits and vegetables on hand. If you keep the healthier snack alternatives on the counter you will be less likely to rummage the kitchen for chips or cookies.

Chew. This is an important practice that many Americans forget to do nowadays. When you pick out the snack to eat, sit down and chew. What does it taste like? How does it feel in your mouth?

Of course every now and then you are going to want that cookie or some chips. It’s only natural. But if you are able to apply these steps to your daily routine you will find that snacking can be an enjoyable experience that does contribute to your health.

Tags: Food, Healthy Tips by Joshua Rosenthal
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A few months ago we reported that The White House was talking about growing an organic garden to raise awareness around nutrition and sustainability. In the April issue of Oprah magazine, Michele Obama says they are definitely going to take this project on.

"We want to use it as a point of education, to talk about health and how delicious it is to eat fresh food, and how you can take that food and make it part of a healthy diet,” says the First Lady. This is great news. Not only will this be an opportunity for people to learn about the benefits of eating fresh, whole foods but in this economic climate people will save money by growing their own food.

Do any of you plan to start your own garden this spring/summer? Please share any tips with those who have never nurtured a garden.

Tags: Celebrity News, Food, Healthy Tips, Politics by Joshua Rosenthal
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Spring is in the air. The temperature is rising, the sun is shining and it stays light for longer.

Have you noticed that when these changes in weather occur people are generally happier? There’s a skip in everyone’s step and more people are smiling. The obvious reason is that people love the warmth of the sun and the look of a tan. While I think there is a lot of truth to that I think other factors contribute to people being happier in the spring and summer.

Think about everything that comes with warmer temperatures. People spend more time outside which is conducive to long walks, playing frisbee in the park, running or going for a bike ride. Instead of running on a treadmill alone or sitting in front of the TV, people go for a jog with friends or have a picnic with those they care about. Many people also consume more fruits and vegetables because they are cooling foods and fresher at this time. These seasons are also a time when people like to go on vacation with their friends and family to relax.

It makes sense that people would be happier and look healthier when the sun starts to shine. They’re getting more exercise, soaking up the sun which is high in vitamin D, nurturing their relationships, eating less processed foods and relaxing. People are getting a balance of primary and secondary foods!

In the upcoming weeks and months I encourage you to get outside for a walk with your friends and visit your local farmers’ market to pick up organic fruits and vegetables. Plan a vacation, even if it’s to a beach nearby with a loved one and soak up that much needed vitamin D—be sure to use sunscreen as well!

Get that spring back into your step! How do you enjoy your time outdoors?

Tags: Food, Healthy Tips, Primary Food, Relationships by Joshua Rosenthal
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More people are spending less money on restaurant dining and more on basic ingredients to prepare home cooked meals. Most home cooked meals are healthier than what you would get at a restaurant, but just like restaurant meals are controlled by the chef in the kitchen, home cooked meals are controlled by the "nutritional gatekeeper," or the person who does all the shopping and cooking.

These "nutritional gatekeepers" determine how the rest of the household eats, so if they have unhealthy eating habits they will most likely pass those habits onto the rest of the family and the same is true if they have healthy eating habits.

A recent study looked at the type of cooks out there. Here are the profile types that most people fall under.

"Giving" cooks love to cook, but mostly prepare comfort food like baked goodies.

"Methodical" cooks rely heavily on recipes, so their ingredients and how healthy they are is strongly determined by the cookbook they use. 

"Competitive" cooks care more about making an impressive dish and not as much on how healthy it is.

"Healthy" cooks tend to put pride in the fresh ingredients they cook with, but care less about the taste.

"Innovative" cooks like to experiment with different ingredients and try out different cuisines. This type of cook often prepare healthier dishes.

Do you fit one of these profiles or do you fall into several of these? The truth is whether you are a giving, methodical, competitive, healthy or innovative chef in the kitchen you can make all of your meals healthy. For the giving cooks you can make healthier baked goods with the right ingredients. For the healthy cook you don’t have to sacrifice taste. Check out these recipes for healthy and delicious meals—including desserts!

Tags: Food, Healthy Tips, Recipes, Uncategorized by Joshua Rosenthal
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It is no surprise that Americans need to change their health habits. Even though there has been an increase in sales in organic foods and natural food stores have received more business, there are still millions of Americans who consume large amounts of chemicalized, artificial junk foods. Something is not clicking.

8 out of 10 Americans suffer from chronic ailments because of unhealthy lifestyles. People continue to see their doctors and spend an exorbitant amount of money on health care, but they continue to get sicker. What’s up with that?

We need to rethink the system so Americans are spending less on medications and operations and are actually seeing improvements in their health.

This month, the Senate has been reevaluating this system and what that reform would look like. It has been suggested that health coaches would be a tier of health care providers that don’t cost a lot to train, but could provide the infrastructure to people to make it easy to eat right, exercise and incorporate other lifestyle improvements like spirituality, a stress-free career, etc.

In a CNN interview, Dr. Mehmet Oz reported that health coaches should be a part of every public clinic, medical office and hospital wellness center. These health care providers should be reimbursed by insurance companies, corporate wellness programs and so on.

Wouldn’t it be great if everyone could have their own health coach to make dietary changes and lifestyle adjustments so they can stop putting their hard-earned money into medications and operations?

Watch out world here we come!

Tags: About IIN, Career, Food, Healthy Tips by Joshua Rosenthal
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Can you say butylated hydroxyanisole or acesulfame-K? If you ask most people to pronounce the ingredients on a bag of chips or a soda they will not be able to. It is these food additives that lead to many preventable health problems.

A recent article outlines the top food additives you should avoid. Are any of them hidden in your food?

Olestra: a.k.a. Olean is a synthetic fat found in some potato chips and prevents fat from getting absorbed in your digestive system. It can also inhibit vitamins found in fruits and vegetables from being absorbed. 

Sodium nitrate: used to preserve color and flavor in meat products like bacon, ham, smoked fish and luncheon meats. This preservative prevents the growth of healthy bacteria and has also been linked to various types of cancer.

Butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA) and butylated hydrozyttoluene (BHT): used to preserve foods like cereals, chewing gum and potato chips. Both are antioxidants that may cause cancer.

Monosodium glutamate (MSG): an amino acid used to flavor soups, salad dressings and restaurant food. It can cause headaches and nausea and other health problems.  

Most of these additives are used to preserve and enhance the flavor of packaged foods. You don’t need to eat bland food, but rather by eating fewer packaged foods and opting for ingredients you can pronounce like vegetables, whole grains and fruit you will maintain or improve your health.

Tags: Food, Healthy Tips by Joshua Rosenthal
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Many people have rules around what they consume. Some people set guidelines in an effort to keep weight off. Other people don’t eat certain foods because of family traditions. And some people don’t know why they eat the foods they do.

Most people are not consciously aware that we have these food rules. But maybe by slowing down and understanding the reason behind eating a strict vegetarian or a low-carb diet we can vastly improve health throughout America. What do you think?

In Michael Pollan’s recent New York Times blog, he asks readers to send in their food rules. This is a great exercise to try out. Look at your own diet. Do you eat only until you are half-way full or do you stick to a strict vegetarian diet?

At Integrative Nutrition we encourage students to think about the foods they eat. Maybe you have been eating vegetarian for as long as you can remember. Do you know why you choose to stick to this diet? Experiment. Maybe one week you eat only vegetarian and another week you take milk out of your diet.

You may find that you have been a strict vegetarian for most of your life, but by experimenting with other ways of eating you feel better when you incorporate more meat into your daily meals. No dietary rule is set in stone. It is your body and it is important to find what works best for you.

Tags: Food, Healthy Tips by Joshua Rosenthal
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In Mark Bittman’s latest book Food Matters he talks about how most people find it difficult to improve their eating habits. While it may seem daunting to cut out all processed foods and eat more vegetables, whole grains and fruits it is really quite simple. Bittman subscribes to the 100 percent vegan before 6 p.m. and for dinner he indulges in other foods he loves. 

Eating healthfully doesn’t necessarily mean cutting fat and calories it just means increasing the whole foods. You will naturally find that by crowding in more of the good the processed foods are crowded out.

If you subscribe to the new vegan by day and anything goes at night eating pattern it is important to make sure you’re eating enough during the day. Experiment with making breakfast or lunch your biggest meal filled with whole grains, vegetables or fruit. Try the breakfast experiment. Explore different lunch options here. When you eat enough whole foods during the day you will be less likely to indulge in chemicalized, artificial junk food at night.

Let us know how you improve your eating habits.

Tags: Food, Healthy Tips, Recipes, Uncategorized by Joshua Rosenthal
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