By Dr. Ellen Marmur

You were so careful all summer with the sunscreen. You applied it head to toe before you left the house to go to the beach, or pool, or club, or to lie out in the sun. And you even reapplied your sun protection every two hours!  You have a hat, a surf shirt with UV protective fabric—you were committed! 

But…you still got a tan. OK, it was cloudy one day and you didn’t realize so much sun (50 percent) gets through! Plus, you forgot your tube of sunscreen at home and you stayed out a little longer. And the last weekend of summer, you were just too relaxed to stress over anything.

And now you’re tan.  And feeling maybe a little regret or guilt or even concerned.  It’s time to go back to work looking rested and healthy and that too tanned look actually looks haggard. What can you do?  How do you take away the tan and get back to healthy skin?

Here are a few tricks. 

First—unexciting but simple—resume your sunscreen use. Drop the number from SPF 30 to SPF 15. Use the sunscreen stick or foam applicator when you reapply mid-day. Remember, the celebs wear sunscreen indoors too! (Especially inside airplanes.)

Second—start using a bleaching cream at night on your brown patches. Hydroquinone 4 percent is the key ingredient found in combination with glycolic acid, tretinoic acid, or hydrocortisone creams. Don’t go higher than 4 percent because too much can lead to blue-black permanent skin discoloration (called ochronosis.)

Third—use a creamy exfoliater daily. This removes the tough, tobacco colored dead skin faster and helps to restore your glow.

Fourth—invest in a medium strength chemical peel or even smarter—a Fraxel laser resurfacing treatment. This will help remove damaged cells as well as brown pigment. Remember, tan is trauma. It reflects cells that have been heated up and are in emergency defense mode.  Melanin pigment makes us tan (which for some reason makes us feel young and beautiful again) but its sole purpose is to defend DNA from further UV attack. It literally covers the DNA like a shield. But if you’re tan, your DNA has already been hit and possibly mutated and this is where skin cancer starts.  Resurfacing and peels remove the surface cells and may help eliminate early skin cancer cells.

Fifth—eat well. Food is the best way to optimize your immune system to heal thyself. Eat salmon and sunflower seeds and avocado and drink green tea. For a comprehensive guide to what to eat for good skin check out chapter three in “Simple Skin Beauty.”

Tanning was just recently upgraded from a possible to a known carcinogen by the World Health Organization. You’ve heard the sunscreen message a million times before but let it sink into your skin. Enjoy your active lifestyle but use protection—it will be one of the best investments you’ll ever make.

Dr. Ellen Marmur is an Associate Professor and the Chief of Dermatologic and Cosmetic Surgery at The Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York City.  Dr. Marmur specializes in skin cancer, surgery, cosmetic surgery, and women’s health dermatology.  Her first book, “Simple Skin Beauty” (Atria Publishing) will be available in October 2009.  

Infuriated by a deteriorating economy and blatant abuse of American taxpayers, the public is taking a strong stand to prevent banking executives from getting away with fiscal robbery. What many have failed to realize is that another industry — the health insurance industry — is getting away with murder, perhaps literally, by putting their bottom lines above your welfare, and this time it could be hazardous to your health.

Across the health care community from doctors to pharmaceutical companies to hospital organizations, steps have been taken to implement ethical standards. Codes of conduct are hardly a new idea. Most are self-imposed by professional organizations or trade groups on their members, often in an effort to voluntarily level up their members’ general behavior, especially in the wake of legal or political scrutiny. For example, the pharmaceutical industry substantially revised its code governing interactions with health care professionals after public and professional criticism. Managed care organizations, however, are the only remaining hold-outs that have not adopted a Code of Conduct, leaving them highly unsupervised. Sadly, the very companies Americans often think help pay their bills are undercutting the quality of American health care in their pursuit of a fatter bottom line.

The game works like this: Health insurers’ profits increase as outlays for patient costs decrease. One such way to keep patient costs down is by prescribing generic drugs over name-brand drugs. In a practice known as drug switching, patients are switched from more expensive, name-brand drugs to generics, even if the name-brand drug was working and the patient experienced no negative side effects.

Managed care companies go to great lengths to make sure the switch appears innocent — a doctor is trying to help a patient reduce his or her medical expenses, and therefore recommends the generic. However, behind the closed doors of invite-only dinners and receptions hosted by managed care organizations, many doctors are lured into drug switching programs that offer attractive fiscal incentives, and there is no mechanism in place to regulate these practices.

Doctors are paying the price as well. In a survey done by the Toledo Blade last year among Ohio doctors, ninety-five percent of respondents said insurers interfered with decisions about prescriptions, 91 percent with testing, 74 percent with referrals, and 69 percent with hospitalization decisions. Eighty-six percent said interference compromised patient care, 76 percent said it adversely affected their patients, and 65 percent said they were unable to successfully protest denials. Most shockingly, 14 percent believed interference from an insurer had contributed to the death or serious injury of a patient.

This prompted a response from our now President:

“I am deeply troubled by The Blade’s report of how insurance companies, not doctors and nurses, are making decisions about patient care,” said Senator Barack Obama in a statement to The Blade. “Medical decisions should be made based on what’s good for your health, not what’s good for an insurance company’s bottom line.”

As managed care organizations seek to maximize profits and survive the economic downturn, the public can likely expect increasing use of cost-driven practices. These aggressive tactics must stop, and a comprehensive Health Insurer Code of Conduct must be implemented by which managed care organizations agree to abide by ethical standards such as transparency, clinical autonomy and, most importantly, patient safety and welfare.

The best Rx for every American is access to quality health care and medicine. It’s time to ensure the health insurance industry puts your safety before profits.

For more information about the National Health Insurer Code of Conduct go to: www.insurepatientaccess.org.

Fox News Health Tips:

• Know your medicines. Talk to your doctor about your prescriptions. Are they generics or brand names? What are they supposed to do? Are there less-expensive options? What are the risks and benefits of taking the drug?
• Be on guard. If anyone wants to switch your prescription, ask why. Will the new drug interact with existing medications?
• Appeal. With your doctor’s help, use your health plan’s appeals process to seek coverage for your desired medication.

By Melanie Schuman Rattigan

Of the thousands of pictures I’ve taken over the years in Guatemala, it’s the faces that resonate most.  Of course it’s incredible to see mirror images of side-by-side volcanoes and yet incredibly sad to look at the homes people build from mud and sticks.

Fellow volunteers, many of whom I now consider friends, use these photos for fundraising purposes.  I use them to show friends and family why these trips are so important to me.  You always ask someone if it’s ok to take his or her photo beforehand.  It’s a common courtesy.  I can count on one hand the occasions someone said no.  Kids smile and giggle and with the invention of digital cameras, their faces illuminate when they see their own picture – probably for the very first time.  My first two visits I shot on 35mm and could not do this.

Before my first trip with Hearts in Motion, I searched for information on what the country is like.  I knew it was riddled with poverty and I knew not to drink the water (or brush your teeth with it or be caught singing in the shower) for fear of “traveler’s revenge.”  

Bathroom behavior is a commonly discussed issue on these trips for several reasons.  1) You learn right away you cannot flush toilet paper.  2) You travel with doctors and nurses.  3) You are pretty careful about what you eat and half the time, you still get sick.  This is not meant to scare anyone.  It’s a fact of life. 

Click here for more pictures.

What surprised me more than any book or article could say is just how friendly the people are.  I’m not saying that if I walk down the street in Guatemala City that people say hello.  They don’t do that where I live in New York City.  Yet in small villages or even larger towns, people welcome me. 

I’ve had the pleasure of traveling with a group that ingratiated itself in the community with hard work and dedication.  Perhaps that’s given me a sheltered view and for that I should be grateful.  I’ve seen plenty of machine guns when driving by military installations and banks (these are common sights in Latin American countries.) 

I don’t go out alone at night.  I just go out each day to help someone get medical care, a clean shirt, a new toy.  In return, I bring home souvenirs in the form of photographs and the occasional stomach bug.  A small price.

Click here to read previous “Hearts in Motion” blogs by Melanie Schuman Rattigan.

Melanie Schuman Rattigan is a coordinating producer for the FOX News Channel. Hearts in Motion is a non-profit 501 (c) 3, non-denominational organization that focuses on the needs of impoverished children and families.  It’s predominant focus is in Central and Latin America, but it also has several programs in operation in the United States. You can find out more information at www.heartsinmotion.org.

By Melanie Schuman Rattigan

It’s an empty room in the back of a local school.  We clear out a few broken desks and small chairs and with experienced volunteers, we’re constructing a clinic with three separate “exam rooms” in no time.  Plastic tarps, sheets, rope, tape and a little ingenuity all help to create privacy for the doctors, nurses and patients. 

The cervical cancer screenings and basic exams for women require a special team of practitioners from the states.  It’s like many of the other clinics Hearts in Motion does in Guatemala throughout the year and this is often the only chance these women have to get this examination.  Each February, a group of old and new volunteers spend 4-5 days visiting different villages while the general medical clinic operates adjacent.  Many of these same volunteers travel to Roatan, Honduras each September as well.

Click to see photos

In Spanish, the word for pap smear is papanicolaou, which is also the formal name in English. A Greek doctor whose last name had a slightly different spelling invented the test: Papanikolaou.  Either way, it’s one of the hardest Spanish words I’ve learned.

I’ve often pre-screened patients for basic medical history – How many pregnancies or miscarriages?  Any problems we should know about?  Any birth control plan?  (We ask this because injections are a popular form of birth control here and a woman doesn’t ovulate for usually three months.)  When I started traveling to Guatemala seven years ago, very few women used birth control whereas now it’s not uncommon.  It’s also eye-opening to meet women in their forties who have given birth to nine or ten children.

Many have never had this exam and are frightened, but it’s often more traumatic for their young children who wait outside.  The process is less sophisticated than here in the states.  Speculums, swabs and white vinegar are used to examine the cells in a women’s cervix.

The vinegar causes abnormal cells to “light up.” However, since there is no lab to process results, it is difficult to ascertain if the there is mild or high dysplasia.  A practitioner with a trained eye can spot these abnormal, pre-cancerous cells or even cancer.  We have cryo tanks on hand to freeze pre-cancerous cells and help prevent their growth.  It may sound like very basic care, but it works.  A translator walks a woman through the process as it happens.  I’ve also done this and as a non-medical person, it’s fascinating to learn at the same time

In 2008, the team did 111 cervical cancer screenings and 10 cryos.  This February, we did 299 screenings and 16 cryos.   While we are at clinic, surgeons are at the hospital in Zacapa are performing vaginal hysterectomies, removing ovarian and vaginal cysts and even tumors.  In my first blog I wrote about the women with a 12-lb tumor that our team removed.  While that may be one of the most dramatic cases our team has done, each exam in clinic is just as important in saving a life.

Click here to read previous “Hearts in Motion” blogs by Melanie Schuman Rattigan.

By Melanie Schuman Rattigan

If you’re under the weather or facing a more serious illness, you go to your local doctor or perhaps an urgent care clinic. Maybe even an emergency room. Insurance might be an issue. Frankly, sometimes even getting an appointment can be a challenge. Now imagine you don’t have any of these options. That’s what most Guatemalans face. 

Click here to see pictures from Melanie’s trip.
 
The highlights of my five trips to Guatemala often come from our general medical clinics. You see how people live in mud-and-stick fabricated homes to how they pass the time without television, Internet, school or even unfortunately a job. Sometimes it’s a 3-hour road trip through mudslide-ravaged villages. Other times, it’s 25 minutes off the main transcontinental road. There are clinics where we see 75-100 patients and then those that easily reach in to the hundreds. Parasites are a common problem, as is malnutrition.  For many, this is their one chance to be seen by a health care professional even if they might not have an ear infection or exhibit symptoms of disease. Vitamins, a little ibuprofen for an aching back or antacid for recurring heartburn often does the trick.  Sometimes parents of children born with cleft palates come seeking assistance and we arrange for them to be evaluated by our plastic surgery team that visits each March.
 
While the providers — pediatricians, registered nurses, general practitioners and even emergency medicine professionals — are the stars, there are plenty of jobs for the non-medically trained such as myself. We handle head count, people flow — getting families to the next available provider; we’re runners for refills from those dispensing the meds and most fun of all — we hand out toys or clothes when the patients are finished. I even learned how to make balloon animals, which was just as entertaining for the kids as it was for me.
 
This February, I translated for a pediatrician who himself has adopted four children from Guatemala and wanted to “give back” to the country that has given him so much. A man in his 40s recovering from a stroke came in with his family. (It’s not often we see men at these clinics except on Sundays.) After a brief examination, we referred him to a local neurologist in addition to regular physical therapy at the clinic Hearts In Motion built in the nearby city of Zacapa. 

The surprise of the trip was a 9-year old boy with hydrocephalus who came with his grandmother. His head was enlarged and his eyes shifted constantly left-to-right, up-and-down from the pressure of accumulated fluid on his brain. At birth, doctors told the family he wouldn’t live long. With a physical disability like this (he is also blind in his right eye) he does not go to school, but has already lived longer than anyone imagined. 
His family was told he needed surgery to live beyond age 12, but it is cost-prohibitive and not an option. The doctors recommended a shunt to relieve the pressure — an operation which would have done by a local doctor — and then began examining his ailing grandmother. It was then that I gave him a toy from my backpack — a blue truck that was 74 cents on clearance at my local drugstore. His face lit up and, for the next 15 minutes, he laughed as we played. He was better at getting that truck to cruise across the room than I was and when he left, I was in tears. What did his future hold? We have volunteers that live in-country year-round who can monitor the situation and provide assistance when possible.
 
On average, clinics see about 200 general medical patients each day. There are also clinics specifically for dental care (extractions, cleanings), eye care and ob/gyn care (more on that next week.) And while it’s not a clinic, the most-eye opening experience for many volunteers is visiting the local garbage dump where many people live.  We make sandwiches of bean puree and cheese and fill plastic bags with horchata — a rice milk drink. The residents come running when our yellow school bus makes it way in and line up waiting for a meal and the clothes and shoes we bring.  It’s probably the one hour of the trip that most reminds you — even on a bad day, life is good.

By Melanie Schuman Rattigan

On my first trip to Guatemala with Hearts in Motion, I worked with a team focusing on orthopedic surgery. We hit the ground running. 

The day after our arrival we started pre-screening surgical candidates in a tiny room of the clinic adjacent to Zacapa Hospital. Green walls, little natural light, little artificial light. The surgeons carefully evaluated patients and a surgery schedule for the next four days was taking shape.

A prosthetist came down to make artificial limbs — a new project spurred by a desperate need. I first saw him making casts for a little girl — she couldn’t have been much more than 18 months old — who burned both hands in a pot of masa. 

(This is a food staple made of corn and often cooked at home to make a paste for tortillas). She was missing several fingers and soon the tears would be gone and she’d learn how to use her prosthetics.

Click here to see more photos from Guatemala

It was on this trip that I met two very special siblings — Carla and Marlin Lopez.  They both had severely bowed legs yet their five other siblings did not.  They were generally happy children and mom Sonia was thrilled about the prospect of surgical correction, which is something the state health care system would not provide.

It was a long and complicated surgery and both could not be done in the same trip. Two doctors, a nurse anesthetist and an OR surgical tech operated on Carla, the older of the two. From a lay perspective, it was hammers, drills and chisels. I wasn’t sure how I’d react having never witnessed surgery, let alone something so noisy to the untrained ear.  It was fascinating. The surgeons knew there was a possibility that future corrective surgery might be necessary, but the following year she was thriving. She came to thank us that next October when her brother underwent the same procedure.

Clubfoot is another common ailment often correctible with surgery. But I met one special family that trip that we couldn’t help. A mother and child both have dwarfism and the child’s surgery was too complicated for our team to perform in Guatemala as it involved her knee and leg. In cases like this, the director Karen Scheeringa-Parra and the in-country H.I.M. volunteers work with doctors in Guatemala and the states to try and find a solution.

In just four days, over 40 orthopedic surgeries are usually performed.  An additional day is needed for post-op rounds. Now there is a full rehabilitation clinic built by H.I.M. donations that operates year-round as well as a prosthetic clinic operated by the Range of Motion Project. The clinic has a full-service lab and uses recycled materials including gently used limbs and braces. Guatemalans would not otherwise have access to artificial limbs if not for organizations like this. Work continues even when the group returns home.

Melanie Schuman Rattigan is a coordinating producer for the FOX News Channel. Hearts in Motion is a non-profit 501 (c) 3, non-denominational organization that focuses on the needs of impoverished children and families.  It’s predominant focus is in Central and Latin America, but it also has several programs in operation in the United States. You can find out more information at www.heartsinmotion.org.

Sushi bars are the fastest-growing restaurant segment of the ethnic food industry. That’s good news for Americans, because if you’re in search of a healthy meal, Japanese food fits the bill. Traditional Japanese food is one of the healthiest fares, most often prepared with little oil and features ingredients like tofu, rice, seaweed, noodles, vegetables, and small quantities of fish, chicken, and lean meat. Most sauces are low-fat, and made with a base of broth, soy sauce, or sake. But beware! As sushi becomes more and more mainstream, many rolls are being created to suit the high-fat palette of American diners. Nowadays, cream cheese, tempura flakes, mayonnaise, and deep-fried fish, are popular ingredients in sushi rolls.

With these recent additions, it has become quite easy to walk out having consumed 1,000 calories without even realizing it. Below are some ways you can enjoy eating out at your favorite Japanese restaurant while sticking to The F-Factor Diet.

Here are some of my tips:

1. Start with a soup and salad.  Beginning your meal with a miso soup (50 calories) and a house salad with ginger dressing (110 calories), or seaweed salad (110 calories) fills you up and prevents over eating during the main course. Even if you’re not necessarily in the mood, trust us and order it! While edamame can be a healthy snack, the calories quickly add up; a 4 oz serving provides 170 calories and 6 grams of fat.

2. Roll it with cucumber.  A typical roll of sushi is prepared with one cup of rice (3 servings of carbs) to coat the seaweed. This one cup of rice provides 240 calories, and that’s before anything else is even added. Ask for your roll to be wrapped in cucumber instead of rice to save hundreds of calories.

3. Limit the rice.  If you are craving rice with your sushi, be assertive and request “light rice” (less rice). Take it a step further and request brown rice, when possible, for an extra-fiber boost. If you’re ordering two rolls, get one with rice and the second roll wrapped in cucumber.

4. Keep it simple.  Avoid battered and fried ingredients, including anything “tempura” or “crunchy.” Tempura is not only battered, but deep-fried as well. One shrimp tempura roll contains 544 calories and 13 grams of fat! Also, avoid the mayo typically found in “spicy” versions of common rolls like tuna, spicy salmon, etc. Each tablespoon of spicy mayo packs an additional 100 calories and 11 grams of fat into the roll.

5. Order sashimi.  Sashimi is low in calories, high in lean protein, and contains zero servings of carbohydrates. A one-ounce piece of tuna sashimi contains only 35 calories while a one-ounce piece of salmon sashimi contains only 55 calories. Aside from being low in calories, you also get the benefits of omega-3 essential fatty acids.

6. Healthier options.  Look for broiled, grilled or steamed items. Some examples of healthy options are sunomono (various seafood in vinegar sauce), tuna tataki, carpaccio and oshitashi (steamed spinach with soy sauce).

7. Ask for low-sodium soy sauce.  While salt contains zero calories, too much can increase blood pressure and can leave you feeling bloated. To counteract the sodium, make sure to wash your meal down with plenty of water.

*F-Factor Best Bets

Sample meal for dining in a Japanese restaurant during step 1:

• Green salad with ginger dressing

• Miso soup

• Sashimi dinner: 3 pieces tuna, 3 pieces yellowtail, 3 pieces salmon, 3 pieces shrimp

• Green tea

 Total carbohydrate: 0 grams

Total fiber: 3 grams

Tanya Zuckerbrot, MS, RD is a nutritionist and founder of Skinnyandthecity.com.    She is also the creator of The F-Factor Diet™, an innovative nutritional program she has used for more than ten years to provide hundreds of her clients with all the tools they need to achieve easy weight loss and maintenance, improved health and well-being.  For more information log onto www.FFactorDiet.com.

I’ve been concerned for a long time about the tendency that my patients have to mix their medications with over-the-counter treatments and herbs. This is not a safe or wise approach, though most of the time, no major side effects occur.

Just this week, a patient called me to say she had a cold and wondered if she could take a common over-the-counter cold medication. On the surface it seems like an easy question with an automatic “yes” answer — except for one thing. She was taking the kind of antidepressant medication that can raise blood pressure, and the cold medicine she had in mind contains Sudafed, which can also raise BP. So my answer was actually “no.” More importantly, I felt glad she thought to ask me the question, as too many patients don’t think they need to discuss over-the-counter aspirin, Tylenol, or cold medicines with their doctors.

According to a new study in the Journal of the American Medical Association, approximately 2.2 million or 1 in 25 older adults, are at risk for potential major drug-drug interaction. Men are at greater risk than women. The study looked at close to 3 thousand people aged 57 to 85.     

The problem often occurred because of mixing prescription drugs with over-the-counter drugs and dietary supplements, which also contain active chemicals. Frequent problems involved mixing Coumadin (a blood thinner) with aspirin or garlic (which also thin blood), or mixing a cholesterol-lowering statin with dietary niacin (lowers cholesterol and can effect the liver). Aspirin, when taken with gingko, can also increase the risk of bleeding. Certain blood pressure medicines (lisinopril) can raise potassium, and many patients were also taking potassium at the same time (for use with diuretics). Unfortunately, these different and potentially conflicting drugs are often prescribed by different doctors, and there is no one who has the entire list or is coordinating care.
     
Here is my take:

1. This study brings home the point that physicians need to be in the loop on ALL medications their patients are taking, including over-the-counter pills and supplements.

2. Doctors need to address this with each and every patient and to go over potential interactions.

3. Elderly patients have SLOWER metabolisms, so the risk of a major complication from medicines competing with each other to be removed by the liver or kidney is much greater.

4. The Institute for Safe Medication Practices has an excellent Website which goes over medications at high risk for misuse as well at the latest news. They have recently launched a new website for the consumer, www.consumermedsafety.org, which is very accessible and user friendly.

5. Any concerns raised by reading this information, should NOT lead to automatically stopping medications that may be important, but rather should lead to a clarifying consultation with your physician.

Dr. Marc Siegel is an internist and associate professor of medicine at the NYU School of Medicine. He is a FOX News medical contributor and writes a health column for LA Times, where he examines TV and movies for medical accuracy. Dr. Siegel is the author of “False Alarm: The Truth about the Epidemic of Fear“ and “Bird Flu: Everything You Need to Know About the Next Pandemic.”  Read more at www.doctorsiegel.com

Growing up one of my favorite comfort food was none other than macaroni and cheese. However it usually comes with the burden of 20g of fat per serving. I eliminated the guilt, but not the flavor, by using low fat milk, reduced fat cheese and a fiber rich pasta cutting the fact to 4 times less than your usually bowl. Once you try this healthier alternative, you’ll never go back and neither will your kids!

Ingredients:

• 1 cup 1% low- fat milk
• 1 cup 1% low-fat cottage cheese
• 1  ½ cups shredded reduced-fat cheddar cheese
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 1/8  teaspoon pepper
• 1 pound Barilla Plus multigrain elbow pasta
• 3 tablespoons bread crumbs
  
Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400F. Bring a large pot of water to a boil for the pasta.
2. In a saucepan, bring the milk to a boil. Lower the heat and stir in the cottage cheese, cheddar cheese, salt and pepper. Stir until the cheese is melted and keep warm.
3. Cook pasta until tender but firm. Drain pasta and return to its pot. Add the cheese sauce to the pasta and stir well to combine. Transfer the mixture to a baking dish or casserole and sprinkle the top with bread crumbs.
4. Bake for 25 minutes until bubbly and the top is golden. Serve immediately.

Serves 4

Nutritional Contents:
Per Serving: 410 calories, 40g carbohydrate, 5g fiber, 26g protein, 5 g total fat, 3 g sat. fat, 715 mg sodium
 
Tanya Zuckerbrot, MS, RD is a nutritionist and the creator of The F-Factor Diet™, an innovative nutritional program she has used for more than ten years to provide hundreds of her clients with all the tools they need to achieve easy weight loss and maintenance, improved health and well-being.  For more information log onto www.FFactorDiet.com.

These chips have all the crunch of regular potato chips without all the fat. Regular potato chips can have as many as 150 calories and 10 grams of fat for only 1 oz (about 15 chips)! My recipe is not only quick and easy, but it’s tastier and healthier as well.

Sweet Potatoes are also a great source of vitamin A and antioxidants which also help prevent cancer.  With only 75 calories and 2 grams of fat feel free to dig in.  You can also get creative with your topping and make it your own. Try adding a tablespoon of oregano, cumin, rosemary, thyme or garlic powder to turn this effortless recipe into one everyone will be raving about.

Ingredients:
½ pound sweet potato
½ tbsp canola oil
¼ tsp kosher salt

1. Preheat oven to 400 F. Lightly coat a baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray.
2. Slice the sweet potatoes into very thin slices.
3. In a large bowl, toss potato with canola oil and salt to coat the chips lightly. Lay the slices in a single layer on the prepared baking sheet.
4. Bake for 15 minutes. Turn over each chip and bake for 5 more minutes. Chips should be crisp. If not, bake up to 3 more minutes, checking every minute so the chips won’t burn. Let cool before serving.

Serves 4 (approximately 15 chips each)
Nutritional Contents

Per Serving:   75 calories   14 g carbohydrates  2 g fiber   1 g protein  2 g total fat   0 g sat fat   153 mg sodium

Tanya Zuckerbrot, MS, RD is a nutritionist and the creator of The F-Factor Diet™, an innovative nutritional program she has used for more than ten years to provide hundreds of her clients with all the tools they need to achieve easy weight loss and maintenance, improved health and well-being.  For more information log onto www.FFactorDiet.com.