Eating for health, not weight

Our take: Eating more plant-based foods is a healthier way to lose weight then focusing on quick weight loss diets. Dean Ornish, opinion writer for The New York Times explains why an Atkins-type diet isn't the best weight loss method:

"Almost half of Americans are on a diet — not surprising, since two-thirds are overweight or obese, a frightening statistic that inspired Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg to push through a ban on large soft drinks in New York City. The country is preoccupied with calories. McDonald's, for instance, is now posting them. But our widespread hope for weight loss makes us vulnerable to all kinds of promises, even ones that aren't true, when it comes to food.

"Perhaps the biggest misconception is that as long as you lose weight, it doesnt matter what you eat. But it does. Yet being thin and being healthy are not at all the same thing. Being overweight is not necessarily linked with disease or premature death. What you eat affects which diseases you may develop, regardless of whether you're thin or fat. Some diets that may help you lose weight may be harmful to your health over time."

Read more about Eating for Health on The New York Times.