There is no dispute: When Oprah acts, the country, no, make that the world, pays attention. Whether you love the Queen of Talk Shows or not, Oprah’s ability to change what we read to the causes we champion is legendary and expansive.

Her latest endeavor is putting herself up to a tremendous dietary challenge: A vegan fast for 21 days. Since going on this fast just last week, she has been blogging about her experience as she swaps bagels for steel cut oatmeal, grilled chicken breast for tempeh salad and fluffy flapjacks for wheat-free crepes. No bread. No red wine. No processed sugars. This is the real deal, folks.

What I like about this cleanse is that it puts the red light on your food cravings. It forces you to think about how powerful our minds and emotions are in choosing the foods we eat. It separates need from desire. We don’t need a $5 coffee drink topped with whip cream and chocolate syrup every afternoon. We may crave it, but we don’t need it. Once we get past those initial hurdles, we’re left with an honest examination of food: how it makes us feel and what purpose it serves. And that is the real purpose of the cleanse: to see if we can deprogram our cravings and learn to eat in a more mindful, conscious and enjoyable way.

I don’t know about you, but I’m very anxious to see the finished product of Oprah’s three-week cleanse. I think she is going to have a lot to say about her experience. And we’ll all listen. Keep up with her 21 day Blog if you’re interested in the details.

Ok. Admit it. You’ve always wanted to take a look in your favorite celebrity‘s kitchen to which food and snacks it’s stocked with. We’re a body image-obsessed culture so it makes perfect sense that when Mariah Carey opened up her refrigerator to the Oprah Winfrey show, peaked with curiosity, we all had a look, too.

Flanked by her personal chef, Patricia, Carey displayed the secrets of the diet that she owes her newly svelte figure to. Her fridge was packed with berries, watermelon, veggies, homemade vegetable soup and fish like swordfish and her chef’s special stuffed clams made without breadcrumbs or butter.

Carey also admitted to not just having her cooks remove butter from recipes, but also from her fridge when her personal chef is not around to keep the kitchen void of indulgences. Watching Carey take us on a tour of her kitchen, I wondered if having a personal chef at your leisure to prepare healthy meals would keep you trim? What do you think? Would it make a big difference in how and what you eat and the eventual number on your bathroom scale?

Any healthy diet should include a rich variety of foods from all groups to ensure you’re giving your body all of the nutrients it needs. Bob Greene, creator of the Best Life Diet, recommends these five Super Foods. He says while all foods provide vitamins and minerals, these little gems should appear on your plate as often as possible.

1. Olive Oil
Ditch your old cooking oil and switch to Olive Oil. It can raise the good cholesterol and lower the bad cholesterol, has a light and delicious flavor and can be used to cook nearly every meal you make. Request your food be cooked in olive oil at restaurants.

2. Soy
Countries like the U.S. who eat an animal-fat rich diet are more likely to have cancer. Soy is an ideal source of protein, is easy to prepare and can take on the flavor of anything you want. Best of all, it can decrease your chance of heart disease or cancer.

3. Mushrooms
Grill them, bake them, put them in a soup, pasta, salad or kabob- any way you slice them, mushrooms are good to eat and good for you. They are packed with antioxidants, potassium and Vitamin B.

4. Walnuts, almonds and nut butters

While the calorie count might be high in nuts, they offer healthy fats, protein and fiber. Eat a handful of nuts as a snack or enjoy an almond butter sandwich for lunch. You’ll be amazed at all the nutrients such a small food can provide.

5. Eggs

The egg is one of the most versatile foods and has been one of the most controversial. No longer is the egg our enemy. Eggs promote eye health, contain 6g protein, 9 amino acids and 5g of “good fat”, actually work to prevent stroke and heart disease and provide Vitamin D.

Learn more about Super Foods from the original Super Foods list from Dr. Steven Pratt.

Now we have another reason to collectively adore Valerie Bertinelli. As revealed on “Oprah,” February 25th, 2008, Valerie has put out a book, detailing her life as well as her weight loss struggles. “Losing It: And How I Got My Life Back One Pound at a Time” is available for purchase, and is already getting rave reviews on Amazon.

Immensely likable, it was curious how she found love with a hard-edged rocker like Eddie Van Halen. Like her marriage, much about her personal life has remained a mystery, until now. Having lost more than 30 pounds with Jenny, and in a timeline that is realistic (you can read all about it on her blog), she does good friend, Kirstie Alley, proud with strong testimonial and certifiable results.

Valerie, you Rock!

You can read the full review of Valerie Bertinelli’s new book here at Diets In Review.

Diets In Review is pleased to have guest blogger, Amy Vermeer, share what she learned at a recent event featuring Oprah’s favorite doctor, Dr. Mehmet Oz. Read more about Amy’s healthy approach to living through holistic nutrition at eatlivelaugh.com.

Dr. Mehmet Oz, who has become increasingly well known through his appearances on the Oprah show, appeared at the 92nd street YMCA in New York City for a discussion on the secret to staying young and healthy. He began by speaking to his latest book “You: Staying Young” and about how we should all be focusing on news we can use, a subject we can all relate to as we are bombarded by messages daily with all types of information that may or may not be useful for ourselves and for our families. Additionally, he spoke about how in this latest book his focus is on the primary caregiver, which in most cases is the female in the household. As he states, the female is most likely to take information learned and pass that on to her family as well as to use this information for leverage towards action steps in her household. This is by no means to discount men from reading the book, but is an accurate depiction of how typical households function.

Dr. Oz proceeded by speaking about how sick we as Americans all are, in fact we are twice as sick as Europeans. With being sicker, we as a population are costing 2X as much to care for, creating a huge burden on what we call a “healthcare system”. We need to stop relying on the system and start focusing on ourselves. Can you believe you have a 2 in 5 chance of encountering a medical error? According to Dr. Oz that is the statistic in New York State, and New York is looked upon as being more advanced than other states. What does that mean our chances are if we live in other areas of the country? Dr. Oz reinforced the need to get second opinions and to encourage friends and family as well; your health is not to be taken lightly.

Dr. Oz then moves on to his 5 Life Adjustments, they are as follows:
• Blood Pressure 15/75
• No Cigarettes
• 30 minutes of daily physical activity
• A healthy diet that is easy to love
• Stress control

These 5 elements are essential to maintaining a healthy lifestyle and overall well being. If one does not concentrate on these “life adjustments” then we will likely encounter belly fat, which according to Dr. Oz is a more important health measure than your weight on a scale. Essentially, if your waist, which entails the amount of belly fat on your body, exceeds the following equation: Total height/2 (ie. If you are 5’6” then your total height in inches is 66”/2 = 33 inches), then you are at a much more serious risk for high cholesterol, diabetes and hypertension. A scale is not an accurate measurement as it does not take into account several important elements such as muscle mass. Muscle does weigh more than fat and when you are working out and building muscle, your weight is likely to increase while your waist size is likely to decrease.

We then touched on supplements and the importance they have for our bodies as we do not all ingest the right foods to naturally absorb all the vitamins and minerals essential for regular function. Dr. Oz recommends taking a multi-vitamin, rich in vitamins A, C, and F, all of which are anti-oxidants that allow for regeneration. In addition, we need to ensure a regular intake of Vitamin D and Omega.

A last essential element briefly discussed was sleep. Woman on average need 7 hours while men need 7.5 hours. Dr. Oz jokes that men are more needy, hence their need for more sleep.

As time runs out for the great knowledge sharing of Dr. Oz, he proceeds to open up the floor to any questions in the room. The first question, how can I maintain my health while enjoying my regular martini? I think it might be time for that gentleman to purchase Dr. Oz’s book!

Click here to learn more about Dr. Oz’s book, YOU: On a Diet.

Thank you, Amy!