The IINsider’s Digest gathers all the hottest nutrition topics around the web in one place for you to easily digest. This week it was reported that trans fats are on the decline after years of warnings. Integrative Nutrition graduate and chocolatier extraordinaire Vanessa Barg touts the health benefits of chocolate, farmers markets are cropping up at hospitals, and a preschool makes a healthy food faux pas.

A few weeks ago, we wrote about green juice versus green smoothies, which sparked quite a conversation in our community. Our readers had so many great ideas and questions that we wanted to share them with you!

We’ve put together a list of some of our favorite juicers, blenders, and ingredients for your next green juice or smoothie!

Juicers

Breville (about $450) – This high-end juicer is on the more expensive side, but it is a very popular choice among the Integrative Nutrition community. The sleek design is easy to clean, the quality of the juice is very high, and the pulp is very dry. 

Champion Juicer ($235) – This popular juicer is one of the more expensive models, but anyone who owns one will tell you it is worth every penny! The Champion Juicer produces delicious, fresh-pressed juice in a short amount of time, but can be  time-consuming to clean. 

IIN speaker Michael Jacobson and the Center for Science in the Public Interest tops the news this week calling for the truth about whole grains. Farmers speak in a Manhattan courtroom in protest of GMO crops. Also, the claim: chocolate cake for breakfast will help you lose weight; and, mindful eating as a practice not a diet. Plus, a bonus for Valentines Day: skip the unhealthy sugar laden chocolate treats and opt for some healthy substitutes for your sweetie. 

The Whole Truth About Whole Grains
Featuring IIN speaker Michael Jacobson
ABC News
On Wednesday, February 8, the Center for Science in the Public Interest petitioned the Food and Drug Administration to stop letting manufacturers label their foods “Whole Grain” when they really aren’t and to start putting the percentage of whole grain on the packaging. The government has encouraged Americans to eat more whole grains because they help prevent heart disease, but the FDA has never established a legal definition of what constitutes a whole grain. Read more.

New Yorkers can be pretty hardened, but some of the latest ads to come out of Mayor Bloomberg's no-holds-barred anti-obesity campaign are leaving some people in shock.

Specifically addressing the extreme augmentation of portion sizes, the New York Department of Health is swapping their gross-out fat soda ads for even more distressing depictions of obese individuals afflicted by limited mobility.

In the ad to the left, an obese, one-legged man is a startling warning of the repercussions of obesity – specifically, amputation due to diabetes. Another ad shows an obese woman struggling up steep stairs. Both contain warnings about the dangers of growing portions.

Despite the laudable intent to discourage becoming obese, these grim subway posters are being rebuked as scare tactics instead of credible risk reminders.

Last week we kicked off our new Vitamin L series, which celebrates the various relationships in our lives throughout the month of February, with a post on friendship.

Next up, we’re talking family. That’s right, those crazy people who drive you nuts, and at one point (circa age 15) you didn’t want to be seen with, but at the end of the day, you love ‘em anyway.

Unlike some other relationships, we don’t get to choose our family members. Who we marry, yes; but that mother of yours who made you take those really awkward photos on the first say of school, you know, the one who is constantly reminding you that she’d like grandchildren someday? Well, you’re sort of stuck with her.

At times it’s easy to be harsh or brutally honest with these people, as we know our family will love us unconditionally. But that’s also the reason that we cherish them so much. On our good days they’re our biggest fans, and on our bad days there's nothing quite like the comfort a family member can provide.

A feed of real-time information from newspapers, celebrities, politicians, and sports teams makes Twitter a continuous newswire. Credible sources? Perhaps not always; but the popular social network is certainly a great place to get updates and articles from your favorite users.

If you have yet to give in to the Twitterverse, here’s how it works: after creating an account you can choose to follow other users based on your interests or your field of work, or just follow friends and family. You’ll then be able to see their tweets (140-character updates) all on one page. Many tweets include links to articles or other websites, or even photos or videos. Here at Integrative Nutrition, we use Twitter to stay in touch with our students and grads, read articles from our nutrition experts, plus follow major news outlets and organizations to stay in the know about current events related to health and wellness.

We previously shared our Twitter lists of doctors and health experts, as well as healthy recipe bloggers, and now we’re sharing our list for health news, so you can stay up to date on the latest nutrition news!

@nytimeshealth – Regular updates from The New York Times Health page, with a ton of content on the health industry, as well as links to the @nytimeswell blog and new recipes.

@NutritionBlogs – Tweets from the Nutrition Blog Network, a site run by dieticians and nutrition experts who share reliable nutrition information, recipes and health tips.

@health_news – A popular user that tweets health-related articles from a variety of sites. There are multiple tweets an hour so you’ll always find something good.

Ah, Sacramento! California’s State Capitol, delta town, seat of the 19^th century gold rush, and the town where the Pacific Railroad began.  It’s also my old college town, a place where me and my friends spent our afternoons picking sour Seville oranges from the old trees lining downtown’s gorgeous streets (yes, harvesting is both legal and encouraged!), strolling in the camellia gardens at the Capitol, and scouting the perfect bowl of menudo in the hundreds of muy authentico Mexican restaurants that dot the area.

Located in Northern California’s fertile Central Valley, Sacramento is an agricultural powerhouse. The city itself is home to some of the biggest urban citrus groves in the nation. Past the city limits, farms dominate the landscape. Popular area crops include rice, all manner of nuts, vegetables, orchard fruits, berries, and melons. There are also wineries, cheese makers, beer brewers, marmalade makers (using the above mentioned Sevilles) and other food artisans. You can taste it all at any of the area’s farm-to-table restaurants that are so popular. Or, visit one of the local farmer’s markets, roadside produce stands, tasting rooms or pick-your-own farms.

But food isn’t all Sacramento has going for it. With its temperate climate and soft breeze—made possible by the surrounding Sacramento, American, and San Joaquin rivers— Sacramento is an outdoorsy town. Be prepared to cycle along some of the hundreds of miles of dedicated bike lanes, jog next to the one of the rivers, canoe or raft, swim, stroll through historic Old Town, ski in the nearby Sierras, hike through foothill nature preserves, or join one of the Frisbee or soccer games that are always being played in one of the hundreds of area parks.

Looking for healthy options in your town? Check out the rest of our healthy living guides!

Restaurants

	Sugar Plum Vegan Café 2315 K Street  This vegan cafe and bakery is home to some of Sacramento’s most beloved vegan dishes and baked goods! Sugar Plum is open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner—but we can’t get enough of their Sunday brunch menu! The Tofu Frittata and Hempy Blueberry Pancakes are simply outstanding.
	The Green Boheme 1825 Del Paso Boulevard The Green Boheme is a very popular spot among Sacramento’s health-minded community! They serve healthy, gluten free, raw, vegan dishes at their café; many with a delicious Asian flare. The café also hosts raw cooking demonstrations, food plans and raw food cleanses!

February is all about one thing: Love. Or as we like to call it: Vitamin L. This month we will be exploring the various relationships that not only help define who we are, but bring us closer to our happiest, healthiest selves!

Let’s start the series with a relationship that has been proven essential to our health and well-being: Friendship.

What would life be without our friends? Slightly lonely? Probably. Much less fun? I think so.

But could being friendless also affect your health? Several studies say yes.

In 2006, a study, involving 3,000 women diagnosed with cancer, was conducted to see what effect friendship had on cancer patients. Researchers found that women, who had 10 or more close friends were four times more likely to recover from the disease.

For most of our great-grandmothers, and for many women throughout the world still, giving birth at home was not a choice motivated by emotional, political, or moral conviction – it was simply the only option. Fast-forward to present-day United States, and most women are lucky enough to receive close medical supervision throughout their entire pregnancy and delivery. The vast majority of women give birth in hospitals with an OB/GYN, and throughout the 1990s, the number of home births steadily declined.

In an interesting reversal of trends, a new report from the CDC reveals that the rate of home births in the United States is now on the rise. Though the actual number is still proportionately very small – home births account for less than 1% of all births – the 30% jump between 2004 and 2009 is substantial.

So why the increase? The CDC data doesn’t say, but it seems to have a lot to do with growing concern about personal choice. Unlike our great-grandmothers, women in Western countries today do have options as to where and how they give birth, and there may be new factors making hospital births less attractive.

Here’s a powerful exercise to try: wherever you are, wherever you go, simply look at the people around you. According to recent findings from the American Heart Association, one third of everyone you see has high blood pressure.