Category Archives: Healthy Diet

By Deirdre Imus, president and founder of The Deirdre Imus Environmental Health Center at Hackensack University Medical Center

When it comes to fighting cancer, or heart disease, or the common cold, there are many variables that are outside your control, like what will happen next, how will it feel, and when it will get better. One of the few aspects of treatment that patients can manage is the food they put into their bodies. Eating healthily is always important, but it is paramount – almost vital – when illness strikes. Continue reading →

by Deirdre Imus, founder and president of The Deirdre Imus Environmental Health Center at Hackensack University Medical Center

Thanksgiving is a time to be grateful for family and friends, as everyone gathers to pig out on junk food, and then pass out in front of the television, only to wake up hours later from your tryptophan-induced coma to eat (more), drink (more), and be merry (ish).

Sound familiar? I thought so.

This year, rather than kick into auto pilot during the holiday season and allow others to decide what you are going to eat, take ownership of your health, just like you do every other day of the year. Show your loved ones the responsible, informed eater that you are, and inspire them to make changes in their lives too. Continue reading →

by Deirdre Imus, founder and president of The Deirdre Imus Environmental Health Center at Hackensack University Medical Center

Forget everything I’ve ever told you: Pizza is a vegetable.

Confused? Shocked? Disgusted? Join the club. A few days ago, the U.S. Congress proposed pizza and French fries remain school lunch staples, despite standards proposed by the Agriculture Department earlier this year that would have limited the use of potatoes, put restrictions on sodium and boosted whole grains. Continue reading →