About Dr. Olson
Beth Olson is an Associate Professor and Extension Specialist in Nutritional Sciences. She has a BS in Biochemistry from UW-Madison and a PhD in Nutrition from UC-Davis. Prior to coming to UW, she worked at Michigan State University and the Kellogg Company in Battle Creek, MI.
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Skip Being Stuffed this Thanksgiving
As we enter into the holiday season, it is easy to become overfilled with joy, excitement, and even food. How can we enjoy our holidays, especially Thanksgiving, a holiday focused entirely on the meal without leaving the dinner table with the uneasy feeling of a turkey coma? Taiya Bach of the Nutritional Sciences Department, and…
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Fall Holidays & Added Sugars
What’s the matter with added sugar? We are told to stay away, but why should we? Sugar is defined as the class of soluble, crystalline, typically sweet-tasting, carbohydrates. Some sugars are naturally found in whole foods, such as fruits and vegetables, while others are added to processed foods, such as bakery products, juice drinks, and…
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Supplements and COVID-19
Recently the National Institutes of Health (NIH) released a fact sheet regarding dietary supplement usage for COVID-19 protection. Currently by law, no supplements can legally claim that they are a treatment, prevention, or cure of any disease, and this includes COVID-19. However, many people are still purchasing and using dietary supplements to prevent or treat…
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World Heart Day is September 29th
Heart disease is the #1 cause of death in the world. As World Heart Day approaches, CDC has information on what you can do to have a Heart Healthy lifestyle: 1. Learn your health history. 2. Eat a healthy diet (yeah!). 3. Move more, sit less. 4. Quit smoking. 5. Take medicines as directed. 6.…
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Healthy Lunches
As workplaces open up, it’s time to start thinking about bringing food for the day. Packing meals takes time, and choosing healthy options that taste good may require planning ahead. There are many benefits to bringing food from home instead of eating out or buying a meal at work. Eating less processed foods means less…
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Natural and Artificial Flavors
All foods can be expressed as chemical structures, from the citric acid that gives oranges their tang to the different fats that are in an avocado. These are often referred to as “natural” chemicals, since we see them occurring in foods in nature. The FDA defines “natural flavors” as chemical flavor compounds extracted directly from…
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Meatless Mondays – Tofu!
Whether you’re giving Meatless Mondays a try this year or just trying to include more plants in your diet, these tips will serve you well. What’s the first thing that comes to mind when you think of plant-based protein? For many, it’s tofu. Tofu is very plain on its own but can be transformed to…
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Eggs & Cholesterol
Cholesterol is necessary in our bodies as a part of our cells. However, cholesterol has long been associated with cardiovascular disease (CVD), the number one cause of death in the US. Blood levels of cholesterol, especially high LDL (the “bad” cholesterol), and low HDL (the “good” cholesterol) contributes to fatty deposits in blood vessels, which…
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Meatless Monday – Lentils!
Whether you’re giving Meatless Mondays a try this year or just trying to include more plants in your diet, these tips will serve you well. Lentils can seem intimidating if you’ve never cooked with them before, but once you know how, they can become a nutritious part of a plant-based diet. One cup of lentils…