The Woman on Page 194

Magazines are often criticized for their unrealistic standards of beauty (who invented airbrushing, anyway? Can we outlaw it?) Check out this blog from Glamour magazine's editor - it seems that there was a tiny picture of a beautiful, sexy, and realistic woman that appeared on page 194, and the emails from appreciative women everywhere started flooding the editor's inbox.

These are the images and inspiration our daughters deserve - fit women can and do have curves, sexy is an attitude, and life is worth enjoying. Good for you, Glamour!

Nutrition information - Who can you believe?

Information overload is definitely par for course in the modern world - it is difficult to avoid being bombarded with information, whether you are looking for it or not. One of the most frustrating things for a nutrition professional is to witness bad information being given out by reputable media outlets.

Please read my colleague Rebecca Scritchfield's blog about The Price of Misinformation in the Media - she did such an excellent job of summing up two disappointing nutrition stories done recently by very credible media outlets - Time Magazine and Good Morning America.

The bottom line is this - nutrition is a science, and to reach the absolute truth, you need to go to the science. Please be careful about who you listen to out there - at the very least, taking bad advice can lead to futile efforts and wasted time; at the worst, it can lead to furthering your health problems. Think of all the people who are now inspired to not exercise in order to lose weight - thanks, Time magazine, for your help.

Happy World Breastfeeding Week!

The first week in August is always World Breastfeeding Week, and in honor of it, I thought I'd post one of my favorite "cult classic" pictures (well, in the breastfeeding world it's a classic). Obviously, this is one smart baby!

The research is astoundingly clear about breastfeeding - it is truly magical stuff. The thing is, it can be difficult to do when you live in a society that doesn't support it. If you haven't grown up witnessing aunties and cousins breastfeed their newborn, or if you feel the glare of other people when you try to nurse in public, you're going to tempted to break out the free formula.

Breastfed babies end up smarter, healthier, and leaner. So, it makes economical sense for our country to embrace breastfeeding and not shun it.

The shirt at the top says it all, and it is a perfect gift for the lactating momma in your life!