Lauren is a registered dietitian and freelance writer with work that can be seen on CNBC, Greatist, and LIVESTRONG.com. She graduated from Western Michigan University and completed her dietetic internship at Michigan State University. Although not fully plant-based, Lauren will never turn down a vegetable and makes sure they are on her plate at every meal.
Lauren Armstrong, RDN
What’s the Difference Between Probiotics & Digestive Enzymes? An Expert’s Take
You've heard about probiotics for gut health, but you may have also read about the importance of digestive enzymes. What's the difference? They do two different things but both are beneficial for gut health, which in turn is vital for immune health, mood function and overall disease prevention...
Counting Calories or Counting Carbs: What’s the Difference?
If you’re thinking about changing your eating patterns to lose weight, you may have considered two very popular options — counting calories or counting carbohydrates. While both options can lead to weight loss, there are major differences. Here’s wha...
The Best Low Glycemic Index Foods to Keep Blood Sugar Levels Stable
Keeping blood sugar in check is important for everyone, but especially for those with diabetes or prediabetes. Having uncontrolled blood sugar can lead to serious health problems including heart disease, vision loss, kidney disease, and nerve damage...
7 Drinks That Keep Blood Sugar Low and Support Weight Loss
We’re usually all aware of how food impacts our body, but oftentimes we overlook the fact that the beverages we drink can do the same thing. Many drinks can be riddled with calories and added sugar which makes our blood glucose soar. Having hi...
Should You Take Chlorophyll? An RD Explains the Benefits and Risks
If you’ve spent any time on TikTok, you already know that people are downing chlorophyll drops like crazy, to help boost energy levels, clear up their skin, promote quick weight loss, and even reduce body odor. The tempting promise is that just by adding 15 drops of liquid chlorophyll to your water — voila! — the benefits arrive. But is ...
Is Snacking Actually Bad for You? Here’s What an Expert and the Research Says
Snacking has become more common during the pandemic, as more people are working and eating from home, and sales of snacks like chips, popcorn, and pretzels grew more than 11 percent in a year. More Americans are getting more of their calories from snacks than any other source – even back in 2019 a Food & Health Survey found that 57 percent of us were snacking at least once per day, while jus
How Switching to a Plant-Based Diet Can Prevent Heart Disease
Your heart beats an average of 100,000 times a day, pumping 2,000 gallons of blood through the body to deliver vital nutrients, fuel, and oxygen to your cells. Keeping a healthy heart and lowering your risk of heart disease is the main goal of a healthy diet and exercise, and the Cleveland Clinic wants Americans to start thinking about their heart health long before any symptoms arise...
This Is the Week to Restart Your Resolutions. 5 Tips to Get Back on Track
Here we are at the start of week two of 2022 and already it seems as if those New Year's resolutions are in tatters. Blame stress, or the weather, but despite our best efforts to get and stay on track, the last ten days have made a mockery of our intentions...
What to Do After Overeating and Drinking, From an RD
If your holiday experience was anything like mine, you were around lots of family and lots of food. Not to mention the beer, wine, and pie, ice cream, cookies, and more cocktails and snacks over football.
In these moments, it can be easy to find ourselves overeating and overdrinking. The...
To Lose Weight, Which is Better, Smoothies or Juicing? An RD Answers
It’s a battle of smoothies vs juicing: Which is better for general health and to promote sustained weight loss? Both help you consume more fruit and vegetables, full of antioxidants and nutrients, but because juice takes out the pulp and fiber, and smoothies leave it in but add more calories, health-seekers and dieters have debated: Is the juice worth the squeeze? Here is the latest ...