These snacks are called “salty” for a reason. Most are laden with multiple forms of sodium from plain old salt to monosodium glutamate (MSG), and worse, many are laced with artificial flavors. Some even throw in some trans fats and artificial colors. Before habitually tossing a bag of chips into your shopping cart, take a quick look at the ingredients to discover what you’ll actually be eating. You want to be able to concentrate on the game, not deal with headaches, numbness, or an asthma attack–all symptoms which the Food and Drug Administration reports may be related to eating foods containing MSG.

There are just as many salty snacks made from “clean” ingredients as there are made with potentially harmful ones. Several makers of salty snacks, including Frito-Lay, have already removed unhealthy additives such as MSG, artificial colors & flavors from many of their products. You won’t have to look far to find a better alternative.

Here’s a breakdown of what to look for before Sunday’s game:
Tortilla chips: Tortilla chips are a fixture at Super Bowl parties, but if you’re buying flavored chips, spy before you buy. The ingredients label will reveal what the product contains.
Instead of: Doritos Nacho Cheese single-handedly could’ve put the “junk” in “junk food” with its laundry list of bad ingredients, including MSG, trans fats, and artificial colors, just to name a few.
Try: Garden of Eatin’s Nacho Cheese or Kettle Brand’s Tias! These snacks taste just as good but come with a much cleaner list of ingredients.
DIY: Serve plain or baked tortilla chips (read the label first to make sure they don’t contain Olestra. It can cause diarrhea and reduces your body’s absorption of some nutrients) with Big Game favorites salsa, chilli, and guacamole.

Popcorn:
Microwave popcorn might sound like the best thing since sliced bread, but the bags are lined with PFOA, the harmful Teflon chemical linked to cancer, and the “artificial butter flavor” used in many brands of microwave popcorn may contain the chemical diacetyl which has been known to damage lungs, among other chemicals.
Instead of: Avoid any microwave popcorn (or other snacks) listing “artificial flavor” or “artificial butter flavor.”
Try: Newman’s Own Organics Pop’s Corn or Orville Redenbacher’s Natural Line.
DIY: Impress your friends (or your kids) with air popped corn. Add real butter and salt yourself, or a squeeze of lime. If you’re on a calorie budget, fill a super-sized bowl with plain popcorn seasoned with chili powder or hot chili pepper flakes. Spicy foods boost calorie burning.

Snack Mix: This might just be the ultimate Super Bowl snack. It conveniently combines several favorite salty snacks into one bowl.
Instead of: It’s not possible to find a prepared snack mix that doesn’t contain MSG, partially hydrogenated fats (trans fats), artificial colors or flavors and other dangerous additives. Chex Mix Traditional Snack Mix contains numerous artificial flavors (don’t let the “whole wheat” in the ingredients fool you into thinking it’s healthy). Boston’s Snack Mix has fewer artificial flavors but about the same amount of sodium, 320 mg per half cup. Chester’s Snack Mix has trans fats, and sadly, Quaker Brand Snack Mix Kids Mix contains artificial colors and flavors, including MSG, and deadly trans fats.
DIY: It’s easy to make your own Super Bowl snack mix by combining your favorite shredded oats cereal (try Barbara’s Bakery), cheddar cheese crackers (Late July’s are fantastic), lightly salted or peanut butter pretzels, dry roasted soy nuts, chickpeas or lentils, and some miniature bread sticks (if you like them extra crispy, find a brand made from spelt). Mix all the ingredients together in a large bowl, season with 1 teaspoon hot sauce and some cayenne pepper, and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. If you want to take it a step further, preheat the oven to 300ºF, toss in a little olive oil (about a tablespoon), spread the mix on a baking sheet and bake for 30 to 40 minutes.

Potato Chips: Most plain potato chips are made with potatoes, oil and salt. It’s the flavored varieties you have to worry about. They typically have many more ingredients that provide taste—some are better than others.
Instead of: Flavored potato chips (even the baked ones) often include MSG as a seasoning. Herr’s and Great Value (Walmart brand) are two such offenders. Also, avoid the super-sized bags if there are only a couple of spectators in your TV room watching the game.
Try: Kettle Brand, Michael Season’s, Route 11, Dirty, and most Frito Lay’s chips are
MSG-free and delicious.
DIY: Buy plain potato chips to dip into an all-natural sauce such as Simply Organic French Onion Dip Mix, Sisters Dip & Sauce, or Guiltless Gourmet Spicy Black Bean Dip. Read the ingredients on dips and sauces, too. You never know what they might be hiding (like MSG).

Good luck to your team this Sunday!

Want more info? Unjunk Your Junk Food can help you navigate your way through the snack aisle, pointing out better quality products that taste just like their unhealthier, albeit more popular alternatives, while simultaneously schooling you about the dangers of artificial additives.

Lisa Tsakos, RHN, is one of Naturally Savvy’s regular contributors. Follow Naturally Savvy on Twitter and like it on Facebook for regular updates.

That’s the mission of the American Heart Association’s popular, passionate Go Red for Women campaign, to dispel the myth that heart attacks are just an older man’s concern. Go Red encourages women to speak up on this issue and take control of their health, to prevent cardiovascular disease and save lives.

What can you do to be more heart-healthy, and help other women in your life do the same?
—Show your support Feb. 3 for National Wear Red Day. Set up a fundraising page, make a donation, or check out a local event.

—Take the Go Red Heart Check-Up.

—Learn the signs of a heart attack.

VIDEO: Watch Elizabeth Banks in “Just a Little Heart Attack”

—Spread the word by registering for your Red Dress pin, Go Red’s symbol of women’s fight against heart disease.

—Watch Go Red spokesperson Star Jones when she returns to The View Feb. 22. Jones will share how she recovered from successful cardiac surgery in 2010.

—Shop Go Red, from T-shirts to yoga mats to healthy cookbooks.

—Take control of your heart health: Don’t smoke and be sure to make time for exercise. Also, adopt healthy eating habits. The DASH Diet for Hypertension, by Thomas Moore, M.D., is currently ranked the “Best Overall Diet” by U.S. News and World Report. DASH is also recommended by the American Heart Association, the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, the American Society for Hypertension, and other leading medical authorities.

—Serve up these low-carb, heart-healthy Super Bowl snacks this Sunday, courtesy of The New Atkins for a New You Cookbook.

February is American Heart Month, so why not start taking better care of yours now? First choose foods with nutrition labels containing a Percent Daily Value for sodium of 5 percent or less, then follow these 9 simple tips from the No. 1 rated The DASH* Diet for Hypertension: Lower Your Blood Pressure in 14 Days without Drugs, by Thomas Moore, M.D.

• Look for products that say “sodium free,” “very low sodium,” “low sodium,” “light in sodium,” “reduced or less sodium,” or “unsalted.” Because the government has implemented strict rules to govern such claims, you can be assured these are not empty promises.

• Buy fresh or plain frozen vegetables. Canned vegetables are okay if labeled “no salt added.” Use fresh poultry, fish, and lean meat rather than canned or processed versions.

• Use herbs, spices, and salt-free seasoning blends in cooking and at the table instead of salt.

• Cook rice, pasta, and hot cereals without salt. Cut back on instant or flavored rice, pasta, and cereal mixes, which usually have added salt.

• Select low-salt versions of canned meats such as tuna.

• Remove the saltshaker from the dining table.

• Choose “convenience” foods that are low in sodium. Cut back on frozen dinners, mixed dishes like pizza, packaged mixes, canned soups or broths, and salad dressings, all of which often have a lot of sodium.

• When available, buy low- or reduced-sodium or no-salt-added versions of such foods as:

– canned soup, dried soup mixes, bouillon

– canned vegetables and vegetable juices

– cheeses, lower in fat

– margarine

– condiments such as ketchup and soy sauce

– crackers and baked goods

– processed lean meats

– snack foods, such as chips, pretzels, and nuts

• Learn ways to cook that keep down the sodium in your diet.

LEARN MORE

• Buy a copy of The DASH* Diet
• Read the Introduction to The DASH* Diet
• Read Chapter 1 of The DASH* Diet

If you’re on the home team, hosting the party at your house is the easiest option, of course, and gives you control of the menu.

Hit the deli. Save prep time for these simple, satisfying appetizers:
• Cheese and meat platters
• Veggie trays (make your own low-carb dip)
• Antipasto trays (olives, peppers, marinated artichoke hearts and mushrooms, fresh mozzarella, and tomatoes are a low-carb dieter’s dream)
• Relish trays

Make your own. There are plenty of low-carb, football-friendly recipes in The New Atkins for a New You Cookbook: 200 Simple and Delicious Low-Carb Recipes in 30 Minutes or Less. Start with (just to name a few):
—Speedy Spinach Dip
—Spicy Black Bean Dip
—Chili-Cheese Crisps
—Classic Chili con Carne
—Lemon-and-Basil Chicken-Veggie Kebabs
—Peppery-Spicy Baby Back Ribs
—Shrimp Diablo

With all these delicious low-carb options, you will have a winning Super Bowl spread that satisfies everyone. If you still feel you should serve some typical carb-loaded dishes such as chips or pizzas for your guests, at least you will have plenty of satisfying and guilt-free selections to keep your own carb cravings at bay.

If you’re on the away team the situation is a little more challenging, but still very manageable. Try the following tips:

Have a plan. If there is one food you simply can’t resist, allow yourself one very small serving, and leave it at that. If you know even that one small serving will open the floodgates to a carb free-for-all, resolve to stick with low-carb options.

Eat before you go. Have a filling low-carb snack or meal before you head to the party. This should make it easier to resist most temptations.

Bring your own. Offer to bring a veggie tray or meat and cheese tray, and/or prepare one or two of the tasty, low-carb Super Bowl-friendly recipes listed above. Knowing you will have a few low-carb choices that you love makes it much easier to enjoy the party (and the game) without guilt or hunger. You can also bring a low-carb nutrition bar as another back-up option in case your sweet tooth tries to get the best of you.

Don’t beat yourself up. So you had a Super Bowl slip-up? Instead of using this as an excuse to call yourself a failure and forgo your low-carb lifestyle, make your next meal a low-carb one. Your next step: Plan your next week’s of meals and snacks, which should help you get right back on track. Add in a little exercise to give yourself an extra boost.

The bottom line? Enjoying a traditional Super Bowl Sunday, and all the food that comes with it, is something you can easily accomplish with just a little planning ahead. Most likely, you won’t feel like you’re missing thing as you cheer on your team.

Get more recipes at Atkins.com.

However, if you’re like me—someone who can’t walk past a bakery without packing on the pounds, I’ve got some great diet tips for you.

Don’t equate dieting to deprivation. You’ll only end up undermining your efforts in the long run. Can’t live without chocolate? Keep a bag of your favorite chocolate goodies in the freezer and give yourself a sweet treat every day.

KISS it: Keep It Simple, Silly. Don’t get caught up in tracking fat and carbs. Eat what you want BUT control your portions. You’ll be surprised what amazing results you ‘ll achieve. Are you going to lose 10 pounds in 10 days? Nope. But over the long haul you WILL lose and you’ll keep it off.

If you feel that you must count something, count calories. Cut your caloric intake and you lose weight. It’s that simple. Just round up or down to the nearest even amount and shoot for less than 1,300 a day. I promise you’ll get results.

Keep a food diary. You’ll be surprised what that little journal tells you about what you eat and possibly why what you eat is causing you problems when you get on the scale.

Get eight hours of sleep a night if possible. Only when you get enough rest and achieve REM sleep each night, can your body produce the hormones necessary to jar your system out of starvation mode.

Drink eight glasses of water a day. Not only is it good for your skin and your internal organs, it helps keep you feeling full.

Eat a well-balanced meal. Love fruit? Eat it. Just don’t overdo. Again, portion control is key.

The dreaded E word. Yes, we need to exercise. If you can only work in 10 minutes a day, then that’s 10 minutes you weren’t doing before. And think about this: “Sitting is the new smoking.” Sitting is just as bad for you as other habits that are in league to undermine our health. Exercise is the true fountain of youth.

Don’t be hard on yourself if you had a bad day. Instead, pat yourself on the back for all the good days you’ve had and climb right back on that horse.

And finally, instead of reaching for those chips when you’re restless, grab a book and get your “feel goods” there. As a matter of fact, (shameless plug alert) grab a copy of my new book Last Man Standing. It’s got eye candy, sweet treats, and pulse pounding thrills guaranteed to accelerate your heart rate—which in turn boosts your metabolism. It’s a win-win, people!

Phases 2, 3, 4
2 tablespoons canola oil
2 1/2 pounds ground round or ground sirloin
2 pounds ground pork
1 large red bell pepper, stemmed, seeded, and chopped
1 large yellow or white onion, chopped
1/4 cup chili powder
2 tablespoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon dried oregano
3 (14-ounce) cans diced tomatoes
1 cup cooked or canned pinto beans, drained
1 tablespoon plus 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1. Heat oil in a large heavy-bottomed saucepan or Dutch oven over high heat. Add beef and pork; sauté until browned, about 5 minutes.

2. Drain off all but 2 tablespoons fat. Add bell pepper, onion, chili powder, cumin, and oregano, stirring to coat meat and vegetables with spices; sauté until vegetables soften, about 5 minutes. Add tomatoes. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until chili gets thick and flavors blend, about 1 hour.

3. Add beans; heat through, about 3 minutes. Stir in salt and pepper and serve.

Tip Time
CHUCK OR GROUND ROUND?
Ground beef that’s 85 percent lean (sometimes called ground round) is the most versatile. Use a less fatty cut and your dish may end up dry or lacking in flavor; more fat can make it unpleasantly greasy. Ground sirloin is 80–85 percent lean and ground chuck is 75–80 percent lean.

PER SERVING:
Net Carbs: 7 grams
Total Carbs: 10 grams
Fiber: 3 grams
Protein: 36 grams
Fat: 26 grams
Calories: 410

Active Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 1 1/2 hours

Here are the 8 great myths about yoga, none of them based in reality:
MYTH:
It’s old.
FACT:
Modern forms date to the 1920s.

MYTH:
Its roots are spiritual.
FACT:
It began centuries ago as a sex cult.

MYTH:
It works miracles.
FACT:
It produces changes mistaken for miracles.

MYTH:
It can stop hearts.
FACT:
It can stop blood flow but not the heartbeat.

MYTH:
It raises oxygen levels.
FACT:
Fast breathing cuts oxygen levels in the brain.

MYTH:
It speeds up the metabolism.
FACT:
It slows the metabolism.

MYTH:
It promotes weight loss.
FACT:
Metabolic slowing means it can promote weight gain.

MYTH:
It’s safe.
FACT:
It can be quite dangerous.

But, the news isn’t all bad, of course. The eight rewards of yoga include:
—Lifts moods
—Enhances health
—Improves sex
—Fosters creativity
—Cuts stress
—Counters aging
—Fights disease
—Improves balance

Do you practice yoga?

Don’t let “diet” foods that are anything but keep you from reaching your goals. We’ve listed seven of the top unhealthy health foods out there.
Fruity Fat-Free Yogurt
Just because it says fat-free doesn’t mean it’s healthy. Most fruit-flavored yogurts have more than 17 grams of sugar in a 6 to 8 ounce serving. Yogurt is still a great choice for dieters, but it’s best to buy plain yogurt (try Greek) and add your own fresh fruit or a dollop of honey. Controlling what’s in your food wherever you can is almost always a healthier choice.

Diet Salad Dressing
Don’t be fooled by the label; look at the ingredient list. You’ll be lucky if you can pronounce one word in a list that seems to go on forever. Chock full of preservatives, additives, sodium, and sugar, this “diet” alternative isn’t really worth it. Try using a little olive oil and balsamic, or a dash of lemon juice and a pinch of salt.

Trail Mix
This “diet” food’s fault lies entirely with its name. Doesn’t it somehow make you feel like eating just a few handfuls will make you look and feel like you’ve just finished a 5-mile hike? If only it were true. In reality, most of these “healthy” mixes are loaded down with chocolate, salt, and sugars, in addition to high-calorie dried fruit and nuts. In fact, throw in some flour and a few eggs, and you’ve got cookies. Save yourself the trouble and either make yourself your own snack mix using whole grain cereal, honey, and almonds.

Deli Meat Sandwiches
It’s important to know where your food is coming from, especially when it comes to foods like deli meats. Often, highly-processed deli options can be full of sodium and potentially harmful nitrates. Add that to a bulky roll with a slather of mayo and a thick slice of cheese, and you have a pretty unhealthy sandwich in front of you. Again, it’s always best to try and have as much control as possible over whats in your food. Check labels and talk to your deli guy about what goes into their meats before you buy.

Protein Bars
Most protein bars are filled to the brim with artificial fillers, chemicals, and sugars, not to mention that many options are also pretty high-cal and high-carb. While we can’t speak for all protein bars (some organic varieties hit the health and diet mark pretty square one), these choco-loaded, processed bars are more like candy bars than anything else. Instead, try snacking on some raw almonds, crackers and hummus, or an apple and peanut butter for a healthy, high-energy snack that also packs a protein punch.

Canned Soups
A seemingly great, low-cal lunch option on a cold day, canned soups contain over 350 milligrams of sodium per serving—which is only half the can. Throw in some salty crackers and you’ve got a pretty sodium-heavy meal, which can make you feel super sluggish and lead to high blood pressure. Instead, try whipping up a batch of homemade soup. Again, you get to control what goes in it, and we guarantee it’ll taste way better than the canned stuff.

Wheat Bread
Whole grains are a great staple of a healthy diet, but beware: dubious marketing and labeling may be tricking you into buying less-than-healthy bread. Unless it says “100 percent whole wheat,” you’re most likely buying processed white bread that has a little wheat flour and color mixed. Check the label, and always try to stick to breads with at least 2 grams of fiber per slice.

That could be a bit of a problem. New research suggests that eating large quantities of soy could have some pretty harmful effects on your health. But before you toss that tofu, let’s find out what all this new information means for our diet.

Soy is rich in isoflavones, plant compounds that mimic estrogen. Some recent animal studies have found that these compounds could possibly reduce fertility and impact reproductive development in women. They can also pose a threat to thyroid function, and may even trigger thyroid disease. Yikes.

How can soy be both good and bad? It’s important to remember not to buy in to the hype on either side of this controversy. Yes, new scientific research points to some potential dangers—but that doesn’t mean those conclusions are right. Very few studies have been conducted, and making assumptions about human health based on animal research is a shaky business. While it may be insightful, it’s by no means conclusive.

Soy’s advocates and manufacturers over-exaggerate its benefits. They do have a product to sell, after all, and we need to be savvy consumers when health foods become runaway trends that sound too good to be true. Calling any food an all-purpose cancer preventative is a pretty dangerous overstatement, and new research shows that a soy-rich diet doesn’t really have any effect on stomach cancers. Does that mean it’s dangerous? Should we avoid it altogether? Of course not.

Don’t let the hype scare you. Like almost everything, soy in moderation is just fine—and overall, it’s a beneficial addition to your healthy diet. Some of its potential harms can be amplified by other health risks, so if you already have thyroid issues, or if you’ve experienced reproductive difficulties, check with your doctor. Otherwise, you should be able to continue to enjoy soy in reasonable, healthy amounts.

What’s reasonable, you ask? Many studies found a positive health impact from as little as 10-15 grams of soy protein a day, about 1 to 2 servings. Try sticking to whole soy foods: A 1/2 cup tofu or tempeh, 1 cup of soy milk, 1 cup cooked edamame, or 1 ounce of soy nuts all count as one serving. The FDA concluded that 25 grams a day, as part of a healthy diet, may reduce the risk of coronary heart disease for those trying to reduce their cholesterol.

Tell Us: Do you enjoy soy as part of a healthy diet?

Exercise must not be looked at as a chore, because in reality it should be something that makes you feel good before, during, and afterward. Secondly, we need to stop finding the time for exercise, but rather MAKE time for it. It starts with small changes. Presently, if you are doing absolutely nothing then 15 minutes of something is worthwhile. Don’t be fooled into thinking that unless you’re breaking a sweat and hurting later that your exercise didn’t make a difference. Anything is better nothing, and hopefully the more you do the more you will want to do.

A regular gym routine, including weights and cardio, for many people is just what the doctor ordered. Others get bored or simply don’t feel comfortable in a gym. But at the end of day it is the exercise that you can stick with that matters most.

From talking with my patients and with some of my own personal picks, here are some ideas for finding your fitness muse:

PILATES
Pilates, developed by Joseph Pilates, emphasizes the balanced development of the body through core strength and flexibility. Pilate exercises are done on either a mat on the floor or on the Reformer, resistance equipment specific to a Pilates studio. Years ago I did Pilates and can honestly say that I’ve never worked my abdomen like I did on the Reformer.

SPINNING
If you like to get your heart rate up and enjoy cycling, spinning is a win-win. Before I discovered yoga (will get to that below) I was an avid spinner. Loved the energy of the room and camaraderie with all the other cyclists.

If I was still into spinning today, the question would be whether I would choose Flywheel or SoulCycle. If you live in NYC, Chicago, L.A., or Miami you know what I’m talking about, because they’re trendier than some restaurants or clubs.

Flywheel has developed the TorqBoard, an in-studio display that provides riders with the option to compare their performance against the rest of the class in real time. Perhaps because I’m very competitive, this sounds very cool. I’ve heard the instructors teach very challenging classes, set to a high-energy playlist. SoulCycle (now partnered with Equinox) also has very challenging and exuberant classes, which are taught in packed rooms lit by Jonathan Adler’s signature grapefruit candles. The cycling routine incorporates both upper body and core workouts.

WALKING
So simple to do, it really doesn’t get any easier. Walking is free, can be done anywhere and any temperature (just dress for it). I suggest buying a pedometer to record your steps, aiming for 10,000 per day. Sometimes walking for a cause that’s close to your heart (i.e. cancer, diabetes) is really motivating and will get even the couch potato moving.

YOGA
I’ve been an avid yoga practitioner for over 12 years and have found no other form of exercise to be more rewarding or challenging. Vinyasa, Ashtanga, Iyengar, Bikram, and Anusara are just some of the many types available. Sometimes you need to try different types and teachers until you find the one that’s right for you.

ZUMBA
If you like to dance Zumba has your name written all over it. Zumba is a Latin dance-inspired fitness program created by dancer and choreographer Alberto “Beto” Perez in Colombia during the 1990s, and is definitely hot at the moment. I’ve never been, but my patients swear by it.

The list can go on and on: boot camp, pole dancing, bowling, tennis, ping-pong (yes, it counts), running, swimming, fencing, basketball, and TRX suspension training.

After you’ve selected your new activities, keep these helpful guidelines in mind:
1. Make it fun. Find an activity that you enjoy.
2. Find a buddy. Having an exercise partner can keep you more accountable.
3. Schedule it. Make an appointment with exercise and don’t cancel it.
4. Lay out your exercise clothes. Keep them by your bedside so as soon as you open your eyes in the morning they’re your motivation.
5. Bring your clothes with you. By going straight to the gym from work you increase your chances of actually getting there.

So stop the excuses, forget about the cold, dreary months ahead, and start moving your body today. Spring is around the corner and there’s no time like the present to get ready!