DIET COLUMN

Oprah sang during her show yesterday “There is a place for us…,” as she learned that Mauritania, a west African nation, classifies beauty as being overweight. Her Nov. 20 episode featured a look around the world at how different countries define beauty in women. In Japan it was having flawless, porcelain skin; in Iran it was having a petite nose (the nose job capital of the world); in New Zealand, the women tattoo their chins and have their lips tattooed blue.

Mauritanian men and women define beauty as being “plump,” said Houda, a native of the country. From a young age, girls are force-fed couscous and camel’s milk, which is high in fat, all in an effort to make the girls gain weight so that they can find a husband. Often times, the girls are stuffed so full that they get sick, but given little recovery time before the feeding begins again. It seems the fatter the better in this culture.

For those of you who are in desperate search for finding a healthy reason to drink your favorite martini or cosmo, you can call off your search.  A solution has been found.

By now, most of us have heard about the acai berry - the wonder fruit that comes from that Amazon Rain Forest.  From supplements to powders to smoothies, this new Super Food is everywhere. And now you can enjoy it as an evening cocktail.

VeeV, a new 60-proof liqueur is an infusion of acai berries and some other tropical fruits. Apparently, it’s not too sugary-sweet and you can rationalize the $35 a bottle price tag in knowing that $1 of each bottle sold goes to the  Sambazon Sustainable Acai Project, which works to protect the Amazon environment during acai harvesting.

This holiday season impress your party guests with a new acai-infused cocktail and when you raise your glasses and drink to your health, know that you are doing just that. Here’s the VeeV Acai Cosmo recipe.

Jennifer Lopez, Angelina Jolie, Nicole Kidman, Jessica Alba - the list goes on of A-list moms-to-be who immediately transform their post-baby bodies into their pre-pregnant shapes. How do they do it so quick?

The overwhelming pressure to be thin in Hollywood is a massive driving impetus for these new moms to whip their bodies back into svelte shape. But all of them work hard to do it. They may have the money for personal trainers, baby-sitters and personal chefs but when it comes down to it, each of these new moms have to put in the work.

Health experts recommend pregnant women gain anywhere between 20 to 40 pounds for a single pregnancy. For those moms-to-be who are underweight to begin with, they are encouraged to fall on the weightier end of this spectrum. For those ladies carrying multiples like Jennifer Lopez and Angelina Jolie, the weight recommendations are a bit more generous.

A few weeks after Jolie gave birth to twins, Vivienne and Knox, it didn’t even look like she had ever been pregnant: Her slender physique showed very little, if any, hint of her pregnant self.

Lean Cuisine is a very popular supermarket prepackaged meal, so it’s a good idea for everyone to be aware of this: There has been a recall of 879,565 pounds of frozen Lean Cuisine chicken meals that may contain small pieces of hard plastic, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service.

The following Lean Cuisine products are subject to recall:

9.5-ounce packages of “Lean Cuisine Pesto Chicken With Bow Tie Pasta.” Printed on each side of each package is a production code of “8280595912″ as well as a use-by date of “Best Before May 2010.”

10.5-ounce packages of “Lean Cuisine Chicken Mediterranean” brand frozen meals. Printed on the side of each package is a production code of “8231595912″ or “8241595912″ as well as a use-by date of “Best before SEP 2010″; a production code of “8263595912,” “8269595911,” or “8274595912,” as well as a use-by date of “Best before OCT 2010″; or a production code of “8291595912″ or “8301595912″ as well as a use-by date of “Best before NOV 2010.”

12.5-ounce packages of “Lean Cuisine Chicken Tuscan” brand frozen meals. Printed on the side of each package is a production code of “8234595911″ and a use-by date of “Best before SEP 2009″; a production code of “8253595911″ or “8269595912″ as well as a use-by date of “Best before OCT 2009″; or a production code of “8292595911″ or “8296595911″ as well as a use-by date of “Best before NOV 2009.”

Each package also bears the USDA mark of inspection as well as the establishment number “EST P-9018.” The frozen chicken meals were produced on Aug. 18, Aug. 21, Aug. 28, Sept. 9, Sept. 19, Sept. 25, Sept. 30, Oct. 6, Oct. 17-18, Oct. 22, and Oct. 27, 2008, and were distributed to retail establishments nationwide.

Amy lost 54 lbs in 4 months by eating low carb and changing her attitude towards food. She has an online cooking show called Eating Low with Amy that teaches people how to cook low hassle, low carb recipes. She also runs the Eating Low web site and forum.

You’ve got the latest diet book. You’ve read it from cover to cover. You’re psyched up and ready to go. Or are you? Preparation is one of the keys to successfully losing weight and is especially important when you are starting a new plan.

Make sure you understand the diet guidelines. Even if you think you know what the plan is all about, go back and reread the guidelines again. The better you understand the plan, the easier it will be to shop for the right foods or even stay on plan if you are caught without your planned food and need to eat out.

Get rid of food that is not on your plan. Don’t even keep it in the house. It’s too easy to cheat if you keep a bunch of junk in your pantry. If your family eats food that is not on your plan, store it in a separate cabinet or have them hide the junk from you.

Make out your menu for the week. Most plans offer sample menus. Go through the sample menu and make any substitutions. Write out your plan so you know exactly what you will be eating during the week. You don’t want any surprises.

We had a chance to visit with Bob Harper, the Biggest Loser blue team trainer, today just moments after his afternoon workout. It’s proof that he’s practicing what he preaches to the contestants of the show, now in its sixth season. “I love my job,” says Bob, who is as vocally passionate about the role he plays in helping these people regain their health as you see on the show. He says his mantra is “get healthy, get healthy, get healthy.”

Prior to his role on Biggest Loser, Bob was a celebrity trainer, where he explained he’d help already-fit people “turn their six packs into eight packs and get from a size four to a size two.” Biggest Loser very much changed the way he trains because he’s working with “everyday people,” and it is his responsibility to show them how to not only lose weight, but to do so in a healthy, well-rounded way.

This season, one of the people Bob is transforming is Vicky Vilcan. We brought her up specifically because she’s the only player we’ve ever seen cause such a ripple amongst Biggest Loser fans, who are a pretty devout group. Bob himself has called her “Shakespearean” and a “puppet-master,” but he explains that who you see on the show is exactly who the producers want you to see. “Vicky is the biggest fan of this show and loves reality TV, she played the game tough,” he remarks.

The country is getting fatter, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is naming names. Well, not individual names, but towns. Burlington, Vermont was named the healthiest city in the U.S. The unhealthiest was Huntington, West Virginia.

There are a few similarities between the two. They’re both college towns of about 50,000 people; the populations are mostly white and of English, Irish and German decent; the names sound slightly alike… but that’s where the similarities end.

In fact, the differences may be a microcosm of what the demographics look like when comparing obese and fit groups.

We often hear protein is an important part of a healthy diet. Here I explain what it is, how much you need and the right way to make it a part of your healthy lifestyle.

What is Protein?

• Found in muscle, bone, skin, hair, pretty much every other body part or tissue
• Makes up enzymes that are part of numerous chemical reactions in the body
• As hemoglobin, it carries oxygen in your blood
• Proteins are built of many amino acids; in which the amino acids come together, form a protein, and take on one its numerous roles in the body. Unlike fats and carbs, the body doesn’t store amino acids, so a daily supply is needed to make new protein.

How Much Do I Need?

In the U.S., we grow and produce millions of fruits and vegetables every year, but there are a few crops that we must travel beyond our borders to acquire. One of them is the nutrient powerhouse, the acai berry - a dark purple berry that grows in the Brazilian jungles. The acai berry is being praised by health experts all over the world for the comprehensive nutrient profile that it sports in such a tiny package.

A small California company called Sambazon, started by a few environmentally-friendly surfers, began selling acai products here in the States back in 1999, before the acai boom hit. But out of concern that Amazonian farmers were not getting a fair trade price for their acai crop, they worked out a plan with these farmers that would bring them more financial stability and would protect the biodiversity of the rain forest.

By no means should you neglect your sweet tooth on Thanksgiving day, you should just do it responsibly. Three helpings of your aunt’s pumpkin pie followed by a couple servings of brownies will leave you counting more than just your blessings. As with anything, moderation is key. So having a small serving of your favorite dessert won’t crash your weight loss efforts. You could also follow Mariah Carey’s “morsel diet.” When she wants to indulge, she just lets herself have one or two small bites of the thing that she’s craving and then she’s satisfied. So maybe, one bite of pie, one bite of brownie and one bite of cookie?

Whichever avenue you choose to satisfy your cravings this Thanksgiving, consider making one of these 10 healthier dessert recipes. Be mindful to follow recipes that don’t require a lot of heavy cream, butter, sugar or salt, and bake with whole grain flour when you can.

1. Harvest Time Praline Apple Cranberry Pie