Meal replacement shakes no substitute for healthy diet, fitness experts say

By |

Sarah Onofrey is one among millions around the world who rely on some sort of dietary supplement to lose weight and improve their overall health. “I had always used diet pills and I always felt sick, groggy, dehydrated, and dizzy,” Onofrey said recently as she waited for an Herbalife shake at a Nutrition Club in northeast El Paso. “But with (Herbalife shakes), I don’t feel like I’m going without anything. I feel a lot healthier.”

As a matter of fact, according to a 2011 study conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), more than half of all American adults use one or more of these types of products believing it improves their health. In an age when trendy health and fitness-related terms like “#gainz” and “fit fam” are seen everywhere from bumper stickers to Instagram bios, it’s no surprise that meal replacement shakes have been in such high demand in recent years.

El Paso’s new Whole Foods Market raises bar on local food choices

By |

EL PASO – More than 1,000 people daily are shopping at the newly opened Whole Foods Market, supporting local vendors while enjoying organic foods not typically found in El Paso supermarkets. “Our first day open we expected to see a lot of people, but the amount of customers we’ve had has exceeded our expectations,” said Mark Heins, store manager. Whole Foods – founded in Austin in 1980 – has more than 460 stores worldwide and opened in El Paso on Oct. 19 in the heart of the West Side near Coronado High School at the corner of Mesa and Resler streets. “All in all we’ve been having great days, and not only was the public happy we were open but all the employee and management were happy we were open to finally see the El Paso community,” Heins said.

Screen time is one of the major factors contributing to the rise in childhood obesity rates. (Diana Arrieta/Borderzine.com)

Childhood obesity is of particular concern in the Borderland

By |

EL PASO — Fresh fruits and vegetables are two food types children should be eating every day, but, not very many kids eat what they should and that is provoking a dangerous rise in child obesity. “Things would go bad pretty quickly, and on top of that not very many people bought a lot of fresh fruits and vegetables,” says Cynthia Martinez, who worked for her parent’s grocery store in high school. “People, especially parents shopping for their kids, purchased Mexican candy, and chips and sodas for their kids,” Martinez said. “We should be the healthiest at this age, yet I don’t think any of my friends can run a mile without stopping,” says Delyn Berry, 17, a student at Andress High School. “I think if kids knew that they needed to do it to be healthy from a young age, and that message was being brought to them, they’d be more interested in sports and stuff.