Diet

Along with flowers and jewelry, sugar is a go-to gift for Valentine's Day. Whether you're giving candy to a sweetheart or indulging your own sweet tooth, follow these tips from registered dietitian Karen Ansel, a spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics:

Steer toward chocolate. The cocoa in chocolate contains heart-healthy antioxidants called flavonols that help lower blood pressure and relax blood vessels. Popular alternatives such as Sweet Tarts, Red Hots and gummy candies, on the other hand, are like eating pure sugar with no benefits.

Many companies now package snacks in 100-calorie portions, but they often don't contain the nutrients your body needs. "I love the concept of those, but the majority of them aren't the best options," says Chrissy Wellington, a nutritionist at Canyon Ranch health resort in Lenox, Mass.

Some advice:

OGDEN -- If this New Year finds you promising yourself, yet again, that you'll adopt a strenuous gym routine that will leave you as buff as a fitness model, you may need a resolution revamp to get it done.

Joan Thompson, an associate professor of Health Promotion and Human Performance at Weber State University, said following certain steps can help anyone enjoy a happier, fitter 2012.

An intermittent low-carb diet could be better than a standard low-calorie Mediterranean diet for weight loss and lowering insulin, a study finds.

Low-carb diets have been shown in a number of studies to be superior to regular low-calorie diets for various weight health outcomes, but they're notoriously difficult to stick to for a number of people. In this study, researchers followed 115 women who had a family history of breast cancer. The researchers followed them for four months as they were randomly assigned to one of three diet programs.

I had the most delightful lunch the other day: a dish of ice cream.

You must know, I've been sort of dieting of late. My profile looked way too much like my six-months-pregnant daughter-in-law, so I banished sweets, junk and assorted bad stuff.

LONDON -- Ever since eliminating pizza from his diet, Novak Djokovic has been on a roll.

Djokovic has been boasting all season about how he has more energy on the tennis court since starting a gluten-free diet, cutting out pizza and bread from his daily life. But the top-ranked Serb has been reluctant to discuss his new regimen in any detail, preferring to let his game do the talking.

"I was aware of eating disorders due to media coverage, but they're usually presented as female problems so I never made the connection with myself. Looking back, I can see that I had behaviors associated with an eating disorder from my late teens but I never considered I might have an eating disorder until my quality of life began to diminish. I was obsessed with food. I counted calories constantly. Anxiety defined my daily existence. I was paralyzed emotionally and socially. It was hard for me, but I finally realized that I had an eating disorder."