Author: frivvy89

Getty ImagesAjinomoto, a Japanese company, is not a household name in the West – but a product it makes, monosodium glutamate, is notorious. Commonly referred to as MSG, the flavouring agent conjures up images of greasy meals followed by headaches.Now Ajinomoto has launched a campaign to recover MSG’s reputation by taking on an unlikely target – Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary.The publisher is being pressed to change “Chinese Restaurant Syndrome”.The dictionary entry is racist and unscientific, says Ajinomoto, and unfairly vilifies MSG.A campaign video featuring Asian-American celebrities declaring that “MSG is delicious” and urging an edit has helped prompt the publisher to say…

There’s no denying it: food can make you feel good. There’s nothing better than getting to indulge in your favorite pasta dish at dinner, sip on a warm latte in the morning, or share a stack of fluffy pancakes with your friends over brunch. However, food can also be used for reasons outside of filling an energy need. If you’ve noticed you resort to eating food during sad, happy, or stressful times, you may be practicing emotional eating. To combat mindless stress eating, we asked dietitian nutritionists to explain just what emotional eating is, the negative side effects, and how…

Have you ever heard of Seasonal Affective Disorder? Now that winter is officially here in the Northern Hemisphere, depression can be at its worst for a lot of people. Darkness and cold add up to a whole lot of gloom and feelings of hopelessness. If you feel worse during winter, you might have Seasonal Affective Disorder or SAD. Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you. Please note that I only recommend products I have used or would use myself! *Please note that I am not your doctor and am not diagnosing…

An open letter to men in recovery: stop using “Rule 62” to dismiss women, comorbidity and intersectionality. To ring in 2020, I spent New Year’s Eve with my friends who are sober–most if not all of whom are qualifying members of Alcoholics Anonymous (I am not; however, I understand the fellowship and framework quite well). I was discussing sobriety with a man I had just met upon walking in the door to my good friends’ house on the water on the south shore of Long Island–the designated gathering place for 50+ sober people at any given time on a holiday…

I was 13 years old the first time I put my fingers down my throat.Over the next few years, the practice of forcing myself to vomit became an everyday — sometimes every meal — habit.For a long time I hid it by taking a shower and counting on the running water to mask the sounds of my disorder. But when my dad overheard me and confronted me when I was 16 years old, I told him it was the first time I’d ever done it. That I’d just wanted to try and I would never do it again. He believed…

Farm stand facilitators in Austin, TX make fresh vegetables available to community members. Photo credit: FFAR. Federal nutrition programs can help bridge gaps in access to healthy food by providing families in need with emergency and supplemental access to sustenance. Millions of Americans struggle each day to access fresh, nutritious food; access and affordability tend to be the most challenging barriers to a healthy diet, though there are also many other challenges that vary from person to person and community to community. Disparities in healthy food access directly contribute to increased levels of obesity and preventable diet-based diseases in underserved…

At first, Melanie Murphy was just following doctor’s orders.Murphy, then 19, had gained weight during a period of depression, and her doctor told her she should lose some. She went from 180 to 125 pounds in 18 months—and even when she knew it was time to stop slimming down, she couldn’t shake the need to chase a goal. Without weight loss, she needed a new target. That became finding the “perfect” diet, one that was clean and pure and would keep her healthy for years to come.At least, that was how she thought about it then. These days, she uses…

It’s New Years Eve, and I’m sat in a coffee shop on Pearl Street in Boulder, CO, where I live, trying to wrap up the sentiments of this past year. It’s been months since I’ve written a post. What’s new? I’m not even gonna to try make a self-deprecating joke about it. Tis life. And I write a lot about the ole eating disorder on Instagram so I guess I’m just a basic millennial that shares experiences as they happen. Anyway, I felt the beautiful sense of urgency today – to wake up and try to make sense of this…

Residents of FL, NY, & CA: Join me for this intimate, online group beginning in January. Constantly thinking about food. . . Counting calories, grams, macros, and the time before eating again. . Obsessing about food and wondering about food addiction. . . Anxious about sticking to diet rules and fighting off cravings. . . It’s all so preoccupying. . . and exhausting. It doesn’t have to be this way. It’s possible for folks to transform their relationship with food. To get off the diet roller coaster, end emotional eating, and finally eat in peace. To make food less of…

THIS WEEK’S TOP TOPICSWeight loss and emotional eatingEmotional eating is eating as a way to suppress or soothe negative emotions, such as stress, anger, fear, boredom, sadness and loneliness. Emotional eating often leads to eating too much, especially too much of foods that are sweet, fatty and high in calories. And this can sabotage your weight-loss efforts. When negative emotions threaten to trigger emotional eating, try these nine tips to stay on track. Winter fitness: Safety tips for exercising outdoorsFrigid temperatures can discourage even the most motivated exercisers. Without motivation, it’s tempting to put your exercise regimen on hold for…