You’ve heard about them in email forwards and late-night infomercials, but these five “miracle diets” just plain don’t work. From straight-up starvation to a steady diet of boiled cabbage, here are diets to steer clear of:

#1 The Grapefruit Diet

The claim is that eating grapefruit with protein triggers a “magical” fat burning process. We’re always wary of the word “magic” in regards to a diet, and this one is no exception. While grapefruit is loaded with vitamin C and fiber and is a great way to start your morning, there’s no evidence to support its reputation as a “fat-burner.”

#2 Juice Diets

While a liquid diet has the potential to starve your body into shedding excess pounds, a super low-calorie diet like this one kicks your metabolism into survival mode. Unsure where the next meal is coming from, your body hangs on to the nutrients it has, slowing your metabolism, and burning fewer calories overall. The minute you switch back to solid foods, there’s a good chance those pounds will “magically” reappear.

#3 The Apple Cider Vinegar Diet

We love apple cider in a vinaigrette for a salad, but the recommended 3 tablespoons of it before meals in this diet is so high in acidity, it might actually damage your stomach lining. Other than possibly making you too nauseated to eat, we couldn’t find any evidence that it aids in weight loss.

#4 The Cabbage Soup Diet

This diet claims you can lose 10 or more pounds by eating just cabbage soup, but this is largely just water weight. Those pounds will likely reappear the minute you return to eating a normal, balanced diet that includes solid food. To add insult to injury, followers of this diet reported light-headedness, weakness, and trouble concentrating. In other words, you need more than a bowlful of cabbage soup to power you through your busy life.

#5 The Maple Syrup Diet

While we think maple syrup is a miracle food when it comes to pancakes and waffles, it’s not what you would call a weight-loss miracle. That infamous cocktail of maple syrup, lemon juice, and cayenne pepper reportedly melts the pounds right off your body, but this is little more than a starvation diet. With almost no protein, this diet will likely cause you to lose metabolism-driving lean muscle, resulting in a slowed calorie-burning capacity. And that’s not a miracle any of us is interested it.

If you want to lose weight, there’s no magic potion or concoction to get you there. A healthy, balanced diet and regular exercise is the only way to shed pounds.

The Food and Drug Administration is moving toward a more active role in seeing that packaged food consumers have accurate, adequate nutrition labels to guide purchasing decisions.

Please read this article by Andrea Thompson of LiveScience.com – FDA cracks down on defective nutrition labels

If you’d be willing to participate in a simple, 10-question study about how consumers evaluate nutrition labels, please click this link to provide contact information and we’ll send you the survey form.

Thanks for making a difference in your world.

One thing I’ll never forget and often share with clients is a line from one of my college professors. She would always say, “A day without a bean is a bad day.” Our student dietetic association even used this line for our T-shirts!

Tip of the week — A New Twist on an Old Saying

Beans, beans, the magical fruit! The more you eat, the more you … may reduce your cholesterol.

It may not be as catchy as the popular children’s rhyme, but beans (that are actually vegetables) may indeed be magical for your health. Rich in protein, calcium, phosphorus, folate and iron, popular dried beans include black beans, chickpeas, kidney beans, pink beans and pinto beans.

The 2005 U.S. Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommend eating 3 cups of dried beans per week to reduce your risk of heart disease by up to 16 percent. Most Americans eat about a third of this amount. Recent research shows eating one-half cup of pinto beans daily can reduce serum cholesterol by 8 percent.

Full of complex carbohydrates yet fat-free, beans can play a role in weight management by making you feel full without a lot of calories.

Beans are a great source of insoluble and soluble fiber, with 6-8 grams in a half-cup. They promote a healthy digestive tract, may reduce your risk of some types of cancer and can help control diabetes and maintain healthy blood glucose levels.

Produced by American Dietary Association

1. Which of the following foods is not specifically linked to a reduced risk of heart disease?
a. Garlic
b. Oats
c. Corn
d. Grape juice
e. Nuts
2. The fiber in which of the following foods will lead to a reduction of blood cholesterol?
a. Whole-grain bread
b. Brown rice
c. Bran cereal
d. Carrots
e. Oats
3. What percentage of total deaths in the United States is linked to heart disease?
a. 20%
b. 30%
c. 40%
d. 50%
e. 60%

4. Which of the following conditions is not linked to metabolic syndrome, a cluster of conditions that vastly increases the risk for development of heart disease?
a. Kidney disease
b. Low high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol
c. High total cholesterol
d. Insulin resistance
e. Abdominal obesity

5. How many calories are contained in each gram of fat?
a. 2 calories
b. 3 calories
c. 6 calories
d. 9 calories
e. 12 calories

6. Which of the following oils is high in saturated fat?
a. Canola oil
b. Palm oil
c. Safflower oil
d. Corn oil
e. Soybean oil

7. How much soy should you eat each day to lower cholesterol levels?
a. 5 grams (g)
b. 10 g
c. 15 g
d. 20 g
e. 25 g

8. If you are trying to reduce your sodium intake, it is recommended that one serving of any food should not contain more than ________ milligrams (mg) of sodium?
a. 100 mg
b. 200 mg
c. 300 mg
d. 400 mg
e. 500 mg

9. Potassium is shown to reduce blood pressure in humans. Which of the following foods is not high in potassium?
a. Green, seedless grapes
b. Oranges and orange juice
c. Potatoes
d. Tomatoes
e. Bananas

10. Which of the following is a lean cut of beef?
a. 80%/20% ground beef
b. T-bone steak
c. Sirloin
d. Brisket
e. Chuck blade roast