The WELLalarm Blog

Diet Coke Plus-Minus

The Coca-Cola Co. just received a slap on the wrist from the FDA for making "inappropriate" health claims on bottles of its new Diet Coke Plus earlier this month. Apparently there are not enough nutrients in Diet Coke Plus to merit the "Plus." In a warning letter to the company, the FDA requested Coke to "take prompt action to correct these violations" by the end of the month.

The FDA also questioned the very idea of nutrient-enhanced snack foods, like fortified sodas. I should say so! The likes of Diet Pepsi Maxi sound like wishful thinking in a bottle to me.

Will the Coca-Cola Polar Bear bring us a more accurate label by Christmas--perhaps something along the lines of Diet Coke Weebitmore? Don't hang up your stocking just yet. A Coke spokesman says there are no plans to change the beverage's labeling, though the company will have a response by early January.

Read about the story here in the Wall Street Journal. Read the FDA's warning letter to Coca-Cola Co. here.

Health claims are bad for your health

I came across this interesting story on Fooducate. Apparently, health claims are bad for your health. The blog post references an experiment conducted by New York Times science reporter John Tierny and French researcher Pierre Chandon, Health Halo Can Hide Calories.

The study found that people tend to underestimate the number of calories in a meal when they see key words like "trans-fat free."

Tierny suspects that when Americans see that foods are marketed as "low fat" we tend to eat more of those foods. Which means more calories...We end up overeating what we perceive as "good" foods.

Chandon thinks we should stop obsessing over "bad" foods versus "good" foods.

Being French, I don’t have any problem with people enjoying lots of foods...Europeans obsess less about nutrition but know what a reasonable portion size is and when they have had too much food, so they’re not as biased by food and diet fads and are healthier. Too many Americans believe that to lose weight, what you eat matters more than how much you eat. It’s the country where people are the best informed about food and enjoy it the least.

What do you think?

Healthy Thanksgiving Survival Guide

I am sooooo excited about Thanksgiving... and relieved not to be hosting it myself! (I'm bringing a side.) Whether you are hosting or just enjoying here are some tips I found to make sure it's a healthy holiday.

First things first: I always, always take some Emergen-C Immune Defense before I attend a large family function. It's a powder you pour into water to make a fizzy drink loaded with 1000 mg. Vitamin C as well as other vitamins, Zinc, and Selenium. Do I want to spend the week after Thanksgiving with a terrible cold? No I do not! Skeptics may scoff, but I swear, this stuff totally works for me.

Getting plenty of sleep before Thanksgiving also helps.

Most Thanksgiving advice out there seems to be about "how not to completely gorge yourself and gain 10 pounds after just one meal." I am all for moderation, but I also believe part of living a well-balanced life is occasionally indulging in decadent, high-calorie food.

Read about all the great health benefits in traditional Thanksgiving dishes on Vital Juice Daily.

Friends and relatives who have hosted Thanksgiving tell me they like to get started cooking a few days ahead. You can start with these make-ahead mashed potatoes.

This is a great "relax, it's just Thanksgiving" article from Health.com: Secrets to a Successful Thanksgiving.

If you get into a panic, consult this San Francisco Gate list of holiday hotlines (hours listed are Pacific Time).

Don't give your guests food poisoning!

I like these feng shui Thanksgiving tips--more common sense than crystals.

Here are 6 ways to green your Thanksgiving. And if you're ready for the next level, 10 ways to green your Thanksgiving.

Finally, some tips on how to decompress and destress your holidays.

(Image via BlogGreen.com)