Caramel corn, coffee cake, Christmas sugar cookies, fruitcake, eggnog, pralines, chocolate fudge, pecan pie, candied sweet potatoes, and the list goes on! The holiday season can be filled with a myriad of sweets, desserts, and sweetened entrees that are calorie dense and may lead to holiday weight gain.

Is one carbohydrate truly better than another? With multiple media messages circulating about sugar, complex carbohydrates, fiber, low carb diets, and how sugar and bad carbs are making us fat and insulin resistant, it is hard to know the real truth behind carbohydrates. When I first decided to address this topic, I thought the answer would be simple if I relied solely on conventional wisdom. However, after much research and thought, the road that leads to the answer is anything but simple.

Are you taking your multivitamin? A recent research article published in the Archives of Internal Medicine found that older women who took a daily multivitamin or vitamin/mineral supplement had an increased risk of dying from heart disease and cancer. This article has created much buzz in the media and much concern, especially in women, about whether they should continue taking vitamins or not.

We all know it: we gain weight over the holidays. Research shows that about half of an individual's yearly weight gain takes place during the holidays. Even with a continued push by health care professionals to increase messages to the public about healthy eating and regular physical activity, obesity is still on the rise. A 2008 research article published in Obesity estimated that by the year 2030, an estimated 86 percent of Americans will be overweight or obese.