Food Inc. is the just-released movie, by director Robert Kenner, unveiling the dark and dirty underbelly of our food industry. As the movie’s byline suggests, “you’ll never look at dinner the same way.”

The documentary-style feature shows how the majority of the food we consume is controlled in the hands of just a few giant food manufacturers whose sometimes deplorable and shocking processing practices have not only been hidden from the American consumer but have had the consent of the government’s two food regulatory bodies, the FDA and USDA.

The movie, which features interviews with In Defense of Food author Michael Pollan and Eric Schlosser of Fast Food Nation, is more than just a jaw-dropping expose that graphically shows our food travels from farm (or machine) to fork, but it also motivates all of us to think twice before we order a hot dog at the baseball stadium, grab a box of sugar corn popped cereal or select a few tomatoes from our mass grocer for a summer salad.

I credit my German heritage for my love of lip-puckering sour foods. I like anything pickled, mustards, horseradish, and I love vinegar on salads.

Apple cider vinegar has long been a folk remedy for many ailments, many of which are unproven or have been disproved. But some studies have shown that it may help with diabetes and obesity.

Even your standard table vinegar that’s used on salads is showing signs of being a fat fighter. It appears to turn on genes that produce proteins that help the body break down fats, according to Japanese researchers. The research has also suggested that acetic acid, the main chemical in vinegar, can help control blood pressure and blood sugar levels.

Last week we discussed core stability training and the importance of staying hydrated. Over the next few weeks, we are going to discuss the importance of stretching. Today, the topic is focused on self stretching.

Wedding Season Week 8:

“Learn to relax. Your body is precious, as it houses your mind and spirit. Inner peace begins with a relaxed body.” (Norman Vincent Peale)

Tip: Remember to warm-up and cool down before and after your workouts. I understand that it takes time away from the actual workout, but it’s worth it.

In an economic climate where the common business news is bankruptcy and closings, one business is doing well enough to expand. Medifast, the popular weight loss brand, has plans to open ten of its weight loss centers in Florida and Texas, markets where the company is experiencing positive growth. They are continuing to examine markets where they might further grow their business in 2010.

Currently customers can visit Medifast in person at 19 franchise-owned locations and 20 corporate-owned locations. A new Tucson-based franchisee plans to open three locations during the next five years.

An article on ABC News website discussed a newly released study examining what is it about the Mediterranean diet that makes it so healthy and good for you? The study consisted of 23,000 Greek men and women over an eight year period. The researchers were able to tell that certain foods, more than others, may offer the majority of the nutritional benefits of this diet.

The researchers concluded from their analysis that “the dominant components of the Mediterranean diet score as a predictor of lower mortality are moderate consumption of alcohol, low consumption of meat and meat products, and high consumption of vegetables, fruits and nuts, olive oil, and legumes.” In addition, the researchers found that the elevated consumption of fish and cereals and avoidance of dairy products seen in the typical Mediterranean diet had little to do with the benefits of this diet.

This week we love Crystal Light’s Frozen Pops. These new fruity popsicles, created by the makers of the most popular powdered low-cal drink mixes, are sure to beat the heat without jeopardizing your bikini-clad bod.

The popsicles come in a slew of different yummy flavors: Lemonade, Pink Lemonade, Peach Iced Tea, Classic Orange, Cherry Pomegranate and more. Each refreshing treat has only 15 calories and no sugar. (Compare that to a 360-calorie ice cream drumstick or a 500-calorie hand-dipped waffle cone.)

The evidence has long supported the notion that men are at a greater risk for fatal heart disease than women. Not so, at least in Canada. While deaths and hospital visits related to heart disease have dropped 30 percent, more women are dying from the ailment than men.

The Canadian study came to its conclusion by analyzing the country’s national death registry. It started in 1994, and ended in 2004. While the overall number of deaths and hospitalization have decreased significantly, women have slightly edged out men at the end of the study at 50.7 percent of total heart-related deaths, whereas they accounted for 49.3 percent in 1994. Even with that number, the difference between men and women is much closer than one might think.

Tennis is a rather popular summer sport. The game of tennis was founded by a couple of friends back in the 1800s in the United Kingdom. The world’s first tennis club was founded in 1872 in England and the tennis market and popularity has grown ever since.

The sport of tennis is not only fun, but it provides several health benefits as well. One of which, according to Dr. Jack Groppel, is that people who play at least three hours of tennis a week cut their chances of death from any cause or health risk in half. I don’t know about you, but I am going to start playing a little more tennis according to that statistic.

Another benefit is that competitive tennis burns more calories than aerobics such as in-line skating or cycling. Lastly, according to Dr. Jim Gavin, tennis outperforms other sports in developing positive personal characteristics such as self-esteem and self-worth.

Today’s guest blog post comes from Bernie Salazar. Together with Rebecca Scritchfield, a weight management expert, he co-created. “The Nurture Principles” – Five mantras to help people change their lives and find wellness within. You’ll also recall Bernie as the Biggest Loser season 5 at-home winner.

I never realized exactly how much of an impact my relationships had on my overall health. Have you? Often times we forget to communicate to the people in our lives that we are taking the time to nurture ourselves and truly focus on getting healthy.

With the “old Bernie,” food was king! Almost all of my family functions revolved around food. Dates with my better half always included a restaurant, outings with friends consisted of drinks and appetizers, meetings with co-workers didn’t officially begin until the desserts were present, and my dog’s chubby figure was a direct result of me sharing my in between meal snacks with my “best friend.”

Take a stroll through your grocery store and do a quick survey of how many choices you have for a variety of different items. Mayonnaise- low-fat, full-fat, fat-free, wasabi, lemon, olive oil. Pretzels - rods, sticks, braids, twists, nuggets, cheddar, sour cream and onion, honey mustard. Frozen waffles - egg, multi-grain, low-fat, high fiber, strawberry, flax, blueberry, wheat-free. The array of foods is just as dizzyingly endless as their varieties and flavors.

Maybe this is part of our problem: The sheer abundance of choices provided at any given grocery store in any given town in the country. From pretzels to yogurt and from frozen pizzas to waffles, perhaps it is no wonder why our enormous selection of foods has also bestowed upon us enormous bums.