While the word “fiber” conjures images of foggy sludge drinks and tasteless, twiggy cereal, we’ve come to know just how crucial getting enough fiber is to our health.  Getting enough, through foods or fiber supplements holds benefits beyond simple “regularity”.  Read on to learn what a health champion fiber is, and why it’s made a comeback in today’s wellness market. Read the rest of this entry »

Unlike eating sweets in centuries past, diabetes dos not discriminate. Sweet treats like honey, sweet meats and nougat used to to be reserved for very special times, and come easy only to the rich who could afford them.  But today, with Godiva cheese cakes, french silk pie blizzards, and  deep fried Pepsi (uh-huh!), it seems that the sweeter and fattier foods are, the more available they are to the masses.  Add our less active lifestyles and you’ve got a recipe for one of the biggest health crises in the United States.

According to the American Diabetes Association (ADA), 25.8 million children and adults in the United States–nearly 10 %–have diabetes. Worse yet, the ADA believes that nearly 79 million people have pre-diabetes, many of whom will develop the disease itself. It hampers the health of African and Asian Americans, Hispanics and Caucasians alike. The ADA reports that in 2007, diabetes took a part in nearly a quarter of a million deaths. Diabetes encourages other issues, too, like heart and kidney disease, sight and nerve problems, and poor healing. Headlines shout warnings. But what is diabetes, really, and where does it come from? Read the rest of this entry »

The worst part of beginning a diet is learning which lovely foods you’ll no longer be able to eat:

• No more donuts
• No more pizza
• No more ribeye soaked in butter
• No more…

I don’t know about you, but I stopped listening after “pizza”.

The sad fact is, though, to lose weight you will have to cut out a lot of these foods and limit your intake of many many more.

But there is one thing you don’t need to cut back on to lose weight.  In fact, according to the National Institute of Health (NIH), you should be eating more of it.  A lot more.

This magical substance is, of course, Fiber. Read the rest of this entry »

Perhaps the most meaningful health slogan for the next decade is:  ”Don’t get beat by diabetes.” With fast food item sizes more than tripling since the 1950s, our bodies have taken the brunt of the excess everything–the calories, the fat, the sodium and the chemicals that infuse these health robbers. That’s right–the average weight of a fast food burger in the 1950′s was 3.9 ounces.  Today?  A whooping 12!  Sodas?  They’ve grown five times their original seven ounces to a staggering 42. The serving size of french fries has nearly tripled as well.  And while the average weight of an average American has not necessarily tripled, it has crept up by about 20%, as has waist size.

Read the rest of this entry »

SmartyPants is bringing its great-tasting, all-in-one gummy multivitamins with essential Omega 3s and Vitamin D to one of America’s most prestigious forums for professionals in integrative medicine, Feb. 27 to March 2, 2013, at the Hilton New York.

“We are delighted to offer a delicious taste of California’s sparkling, good nutrition in the only gummy vitamin that combines the vitamins and minerals your body requires, and what the USDA defends you should have every day,” exclaimed Courtney Nichols Gould. Gould is acclaimed Co-CEO and Co-Founder of SmartyPants, makers of SmartyPants for Kids, SmartyPants for GrownUps and SmartyPants for Weight Management All-in-One Multivitamins with Omega 3s and Vitamin D.  Read the rest of this entry »

You’ve probably heard a thousand times that you should increase your fiber intake. But do you really know why you should follow this advice? Fiber is one of those important yet under-appreciated nutrients. Find out why upping your fiber consumption should be one of your health priorities this year.

Fiber Facts Read the rest of this entry »

When the stars come out on Sat., Feb. 23, to receive their gift bottle of SmartyPants gummy Vitamins at the Academy Awards Gift Suite in Hollywood, they will be supporting Vitamin Angels, a charity that provides children in need and soon-to-be moms with essential nutritional supplements.

“For every Hollywood star who receives a bottle of SmartyPants gummy vitamins, we are going to make a one-for-one matching nutrient grant to Vitamin Angels as we do with every purchase,” said Courtney Nichols Gould, Co-CEO and Co-Founder of SmartyPants, makers of SmartyPants for Kids, SmartyPants for GrownUps and SmartyPants for Weight Management All-in-One Multivitamins with Omega 3s and Vitamin D.  Read the rest of this entry »

With the beginning of a New Year, many people are looking to change their diet and adopt a healthier lifestyle. If you are looking to supercharge your diet, there is no better way than with superfoods!

Benefits Of Adding Superfoods To Your Diet

While results from diet changes vary from person to person, there are documented, common benefits that many notice by adding superfoods into their daily eating plan.

One of the biggest advantages of adding superfoods to your diet is the protection they can give you from diseases such as various forms of cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and even strokes. Simply transforming your diet can have a profound impact on your health! Imagine the possibility of eliminating the need for some of your medications (subject to your physician’s approval, of course!), which merely control these diseases instead of affecting them at a cellular level! Read the rest of this entry »

Recently, as part of the HealthSimplified Interview Series, SmartyPants Vitamins had the pleasure of sitting down with Dr. David Katz,  You can check out our extraordinary talk with him below.

Dr. David Katz is an internationally renowned authority on weight control, nutrition, and the prevention of chronic disease.  Among his many accomplishments are:

• Founding Director of Yale University’s Prevention Research Center (funded by the CDC)  
• Two-time diplomate of the American Board of Internal Medicine
• Founder and President of the non-profit Turn the Tide Foundation,
• the Editor-in-Chief of the journal Childhood Obesity

In addition, he has authored:

• 150+ scientific articles
• nearly 1,000 newspaper articles
• twelve books and counting

Here are some highlights from our chat

• Making Health a Priority – starting in the Family, carrying it out to the Culture
• Teaching Health to our Kids is as Important as Teaching Financial Responsibility to them
• Health is a Responsibility – it impacts your family, your community, and your culture
• How Businesses can Benefit by Moving in the Direction of Health
• Reinventing Elements in Industry so that Everyone Wins
• More Money Can be Made Cultivating Health, rather than Treating Disease
• Getting Healthy isn’t just about Will Power – it’s also about Skill Power
• Wanting Health is great, but you’ve got to have the skills on board to achieve your goals
• Dieting alone doesn’t make sense – it’s time to get the whole family involved
• Learning to Love Food that Loves you Back
• Making Health Easier for Everyone through the NuVal System

Tweetable Insights from Dr. Katz:

• Learn to love the food that loves you back. (Click to Tweet)
• Children and parents will get to Health together or not at all. (Click to Tweet)
• If we want Health to be the default choice, we need to make it easier. (Click to Tweet)

Resources Mentioned:

• Yale Prevention Research Center
• Turn the Tide Foundation
• Nutrition Detectives
• The NuVal System

Few in any field are so worthy of the term “Authority”.  Dr. Katz uses his considerable expertise and weight in the Health field to help everyone put more years in their lives, and life in their years.  You can follow him at @DrDavidKatz.

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As our weight climbs, we most fear obesity. As we creep into our thirties and forties, this number–our weight–duals with our age for first place as that number we’d like most to change. Many want to flaunt pilate-flat abs or to be able to pull off sporting skinny jeans without looking like a sorry hipster wanna-be. For some, though, stopping chronic diseases like obesity, heart disease and diabetes drives the quest.  But rarely do we strive to shed pounds to ward off health risks like cancer and lung disease.

That’s right.  Obesity and morbid obesity can lead to cancer, lung disease, liver disease and arthritis, among other chronic health risks. According to a recent poll, most felt that obesity was the second most serious health concern, right up there with cancer.  But only five percent of those polled realized that being over weight raises the risk of cancer and lung disease. Read the rest of this entry »