Before the DPP, Frieda had very little awareness of the nutrition and impact that it had on her body. She had no energy, didn’t exercise, had joint pains, had consistent mood swings, and “felt quite hopeless about losing weight”. Despite the rough position Frieda was in, she took it upon herself to sign up for one of our DPP classes and soon started seeing a difference. One of the key differences that Frieda saw with the DPP compared to other ways that she had tried to change her unhealthy lifestyle was the commitment. Her prevention experience was an entire year long, with meetings going from weekly to monthly as the program progressed. This reliable, safe place allowed Frieda to find her own success.

“Lifestyle changes just don’t happen overnight, weight doesn’t come off in a flash, and exercise habits take a long time to establish.  Being able to have a framework for a year meant the stage was set for me to succeed.”

     The DPP was also something that Frieda genuinely enjoyed, and that is due to the instructors and impressive group support provided. Frieda’s instructor would email her between classes and go over plans before trips out of town, which really gave her the support and extra push she needed to change her habits. The group in which Frieda worked with was incredibly diverse, with some fitness nuts, others who hated running, as well as people who were short, tall, fat, or skinny. This environment allowed the DPP meetings to become an enjoyable social gathering, creating a place where sticking to a meal or exercise regimen much easier with the support of colleagues going through the same thing right along with you. We are proud to congratulate Frieda on not only reaching the 5% goal, but reaching all the way to 10% below her initial starting weight! Her commitment took her to a much healthier place, and SGP could not be more proud. Just like Frieda felt in the beginning, you may feel discouraged and hopeless, but take her advice and give the DPP a shot, chances are you could change your life and meet some great people in the process.

Designs By: Courteney Lisowski

One of the most optimistic viewpoints on coconut oil comes from some recent studies that have concluded that saturated fat, the main health hazard in coconut oil, is mostly harmless. Several studies since 2015 have eliminated the connection between saturated fat and heart disease, although they are too preliminary for major organizations like the American Diabetes Association to pick up. On top of that, the saturated fat that is in coconut oil is a medium length triglyceride, meaning it is metabolized differently from more common, longer length fats. This different length is the cause of coconut oil’s therapeutic effects on several brain disorders. Its specific length allows coconut oil to have even more benefits, such as helping you burn more fat and calories, as well as curbing your appetite and even lowering blood cholesterol levels.

Coconut oil has a lot of potential, but the most important obstacle in its way is the lack of real research done about it. Without the time and numbers behind consumption of coconut oil, doctors recommend that you limit yourself to about a tablespoon a day before more studies are done to legitimize it as a true healthy food. While this oil may find its way into many households nowadays, stay informed, limit your consumption, and know the real risks and benefits here with us at Skinny Gene.

Designs by: Courteney Lisowski

As a self-proclaimed “date driven person”, Dr. Ivanic uses marketing analytics, statistics and experimental research to come to a general understanding of what influences an individual’s nutritional choices. In her line of research, Dr. Ivanic wants to understand “through a marketing lens, what can firms do in order to help people make better food choices”, while understanding the nuances of race and ethnicity and how they affect those choices.

Her work undermines misconceptions about marketing as simply a creative and ad driven field, stressing the importance of data and numbers for successful marketing projects.

At the very heart of Dr. Ivanic’s research is the concept of empowerment. She says that “when people feel empowered, they tend to make good decisions”. Her aim is to understand how marketers can empower people to make better nutritional choices by instilling affirmation and confidence. In her experimental research she asks subjects to reflect on their race and ethnicity in order to come to an understanding of whether or not they feel empowered with the necessary tools to make these decisions or not. She also gauges “nutritional literacy” in these groups in order to understand where there is a lack of knowledge and information about nutrition which could ultimately empower or disempower specific subgroups of individuals.

Dr. Ivanic chose to become a board member at the Skinny Gene Project because her professional and personal goal of empowerment aligns with the organization’s. Both the Skinny Gene Project’s work and Dr. Ivanic’s research take into consideration how race and ethnicity are two imperative factors for making sweeping changes in nutrition, health and diabetes.

Dr. Ivanic was recently tenured at USD, and hopes that this opportunity will give her time to work even harder on her research and projects. In the near future she hopes to focus her research on epilepsy and stigma, ultimately hoping to understand how social issues and disease are intertwined.

Photography by: Samantha Combs

According to a recent New York Times article, the American Academy of Pediatrics has “advised parents to avoid 100 percent fruit juice for babies younger than 6 months.” This may come as a shock to many, as the image of a baby drinking a bottle of apple juice is as fundamental as any.

This common misconception can have some real consequences, however, as outlined by Dr. Elsie M. Taveras, chief of the division of general pediatrics at MassGeneral Hospital for Children in Boston. One of the primary concerns in giving infants under one-year- old fruit juice of any kind, even 100 percent fruit juice, is that they can act as a type of “gateway drink”. There are studies indicating that infants who drink more juice in infancy are more prone to drink soda and sugary beverages later in life. This risk, along its classification by the American Academy of Pediatrics as a drink with “no nutritional benefits early in life”, makes grabbing for that carton of apple juice seem a lot more dangerous than it has seemed before. 

While facts may back up this scientific consensus, there may still be many who refuse to accept a practice that has been understood as cultural fact. I know when I asked my mom if I had been given fruit juice as an infant, there was not a second of hesitation before a calm “of course, why wouldn’t I?”. Even as I explained the statement procured by the American Academy of Pediatrics, there was still some hesitation in her eyes, and the rest of my family disregarded the information entirely.

Some practices are so ingrained into our daily lives that it seems absurd to change them even in the face of cold hard evidence, like the old practice of giving teething babies a few drops of whiskey to soothe their pain. These practices make their way into our daily habits, to the point where having juice with breakfast seems necessary. 

Despite experts like Dr. Man Wai Ng from the Boston Children’s hospital stating that “one hundred percent fruit juice should be offered only on special occasions, especially for kids who are at high-risk for tooth decay”, we still see portrayals of fruit juice as part of a healthy balanced breakfast over all genres of media. They make their way into our commercials and television shows, it is shown so often that any negative connotation that could potentially be aligned with it disappears. Despite the deep roots that juice drinking as young children has in our culture today, it’s spot is not an unchangeable one. 

In the face of this statement made by the American Academy of Pediatrics, there is a prime chance to change the cultural facts that have been written through the generations. Just as the image of the smoking father or mother has largely disappeared from our minds, perhaps the visual of babies drinking juice can as well.

Avoiding sugary drinks like fruit juice and opting for either whole fruit (when able) or sticking to formula/milk is a healthy change that needs to be implemented on a societal level. So remember next time to push apple juice to the back of the shelf, not into your pantry!

Designs By: Courteney Lisowski

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Always do your best. What you plant now, you will harvest later.

Oga Mandino

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Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisici elit, sed eiusmod tempor incidunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Idque Caesaris facere voluntate liceret: sese habere. Magna pars studiorum, prodita quaerimus. Magna pars studiorum, prodita quaerimus. Fabio vel iudice vincam, sunt in culpa qui officia. Vivamus sagittis lacus vel augue laoreet rutrum faucibus.

Nihilne te nocturnum praesidium Palati, nihil urbis vigiliae. Non equidem invideo, miror magis posuere velit aliquet. Qui ipsorum lingua Celtae, nostra Galli appellantur. Prima luce, cum quibus mons aliud consensu ab eo. Petierunt uti sibi concilium totius Galliae in diem certam indicere.

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisici elit, sed eiusmod tempor incidunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Idque Caesaris facere voluntate liceret: sese habere. Magna pars studiorum, prodita quaerimus. Magna pars studiorum, prodita quaerimus. Fabio vel iudice vincam, sunt in culpa qui officia. Vivamus sagittis lacus vel augue laoreet rutrum faucibus.

Nihilne te nocturnum praesidium Palati, nihil urbis vigiliae. Non equidem invideo, miror magis posuere velit aliquet. Qui ipsorum lingua Celtae, nostra Galli appellantur. Prima luce, cum quibus mons aliud consensu ab eo. Petierunt uti sibi concilium totius Galliae in diem certam indicere.

Nihilne te nocturnum praesidium Palati, nihil urbis vigiliae. Non equidem invideo, miror magis posuere velit aliquet. Qui ipsorum lingua Celtae, nostra Galli appellantur. Prima luce, cum quibus mons aliud consensu ab eo. Petierunt uti sibi concilium totius Galliae in diem certam indicere.

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisici elit, sed eiusmod tempor incidunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Idque Caesaris facere voluntate liceret: sese habere. Magna pars studiorum, prodita quaerimus. Magna pars studiorum, prodita quaerimus. Fabio vel iudice vincam, sunt in culpa qui officia. Vivamus sagittis lacus vel augue laoreet rutrum faucibus.

Nihilne te nocturnum praesidium Palati, nihil urbis vigiliae. Non equidem invideo, miror magis posuere velit aliquet. Qui ipsorum lingua Celtae, nostra Galli appellantur. Prima luce, cum quibus mons aliud consensu ab eo. Petierunt uti sibi concilium totius Galliae in diem certam indicere.

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisici elit, sed eiusmod tempor incidunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Idque Caesaris facere voluntate liceret: sese habere. Magna pars studiorum, prodita quaerimus. Magna pars studiorum, prodita quaerimus. Fabio vel iudice vincam, sunt in culpa qui officia. Vivamus sagittis lacus vel augue laoreet rutrum faucibus.

Nihilne te nocturnum praesidium Palati, nihil urbis vigiliae. Non equidem invideo, miror magis posuere velit aliquet. Qui ipsorum lingua Celtae, nostra Galli appellantur. Prima luce, cum quibus mons aliud consensu ab eo. Petierunt uti sibi concilium totius Galliae in diem certam indicere.