Women's Health and Nutrition Resources

Below we have listed resources that provide additional information on women's health and nutrition. The first section highlights programs and educational materials originating from colleagues here at Brigham and Women's Hospital.

You can also check out our tools page, which will help you personalize your plans for a healthy lifestyle.

BWH Programs

Nutrition Consultation Service. The Nutrition Consultation Service is a team of Registered Dietitians with a collective 100 years of work experience who provide medical nutritional therapy for adults, both individually and in a group setting, who require nutritional counseling and education for a variety of health needs including but not limited to: cardiovascular disease, weight management, compulsive or emotional overeating, diabetes, renal disease, food allergies, prenatal and postpartum nutrition and gastrointestinal disorders, like lactose intolerance, celiac disease, pancreatitis and acid reflux disease. In addition, the Service can assist with public speaking and media requests as well.
Patients_Visitors/pcs/nutrition/Patient/outpatientNutrition.aspx

The Program for Weight Management is a medically supervised weight management program designed for those interested in losing more than 30 pounds. The PWM offers liquid diets, food and liquid diets, weight loss medications and all food programs.
Obesity_Surgery: Learn more about the different obesity surgeries offered at BWH.

 Center for Women and Newborns: Information regarding classes and events, logistics and guidelines, for your OB experience here at BWH. Departments_and_Services/obgyn/services/cwn/

BWH Patient Information

The Michele and Howard Kessler Health Education Library: The Kessler Health Education Library is a resource for a vast array of health topics in a variety of media. It also has computers with internet access and offers educational opportunities through classes and group sessions. This site provides basic information about the Library and its services, a searchable online catalog, news of the department, a listing of classes and events and a list of useful links. /Patients_Visitors/patientresources/patienteducation/healtheducation/

Healthy Bones for Life: Information regarding the prevention and treatment of osteoporosis. Patients_Visitors/patientresources/patienteducation/patientguides/healthybones.aspx

General Health and Nutrition

Nutrition.gov Guide to nutrition and health information on Federal Government websites (food facts, food safety, lifestyle issues, recipes, research on diet quality and food consumption). This is a "hub" with many links off of the site to other related sites. http://www.nutrition.gov/

InteliHealth This site is updated daily, with information on healthy lifestyle, nutrition, weight management, dining out, and healthy after-school snacks. http://www.intelihealth.com/

MayoClinic.com Articles on healthy living and how to modify your current lifestyle. Check out the healthy recipes in the "Virtual Cookbook", find out "Are Supplements for You?" and learn to read food labels in "Percent Daily Value - What is it?".http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/healthy-recipes/RecipeIndex

The Nutrition Source Website from the Nutrition Department of the Harvard School of Public Health. The Nutrition Source is designed to get you started down the path toward the healthiest diet possible. At the Nutrition Source, we explore the latest science about healthy eating for adults, answering key questions about what you should eat. Content also includes reviews of recent research and current events related to nutrition and health. The Harvard School of Public Health is the home of data analysis for the Nurses Health Study and other large trials. www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/

USDA Nutrient Data Laboratory This is the cadillac of food composition tables. You can determine the quantity of just about every nutrient possible, including calories, for many foods by using this database. Select "Search" under the heading "Search the Nutrient Database". Keep in mind that this is data used frequently for research, so it is very detailed.

Eatright.org The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics website. Offers numerous food and nutrition information. Also, allows one to locate a Registered Dietitian in their geographical area. http://www.eatright.org/

Center For Science in the Public Interest Provides numerous nutrition tips for improving one's diet. A portion of the site enables individuals to get involved in impacting or helping to establish nutrition policies. http://www.cspinet.org/

Abouthealth.com Check out the About Health television series Getting Healthy with Gary, featuring Kathy McManus, MS, RD, Director of the Department of Nutrition at Brigham and Women's Hospital. http://www.abouthealth.com/

Back to top

Special Interests

Vegetarian Resource Group Whether you are a vegan or just like veggies, check out this site for recipes, accurate nutrition information on vegetarian diets, and excerpts from Vegetarian Journal. http://www.vrg.org/

National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute To get started, click on "Health Information" when you get to the home page. The site includes something for everyone trying to follow a heart-healthy diet: "DASHing with Less Salt", "Facts About Lowering Blood Pressure", and "Heart Healthy Home Cooking African American Style". http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/

Harvard Center for Cancer Prevention From the HSPH, this site allows one to take advantage of epidemiological data to estimate cancer risk for a variety of cancers. Very easy to navigate. http://www.harvardscience.harvard.edu/directory/programs/harvard-center-cancer-prevention

American Diabetes Association If you start out by providing your zip code, the web page will be customized to include localized diabetes news. Surf this site for basic diabetes information, meal planning tips, and reasons to exercise/lose weight. http://www.diabetes.org/

The Celiac Disease Foundation and The Gluten Intolerance Group. These sites are constructed for people with celiac disease, their families and professionals interested in celiac disease and the gluten-free diet. www.celiac.org and http://www.gluten.net/

Strong Women.com Fitness facts provided. This site offers interactive fitness programs too. www.strongwomen.com

American College of Sports Medicine Provides educational and practical applications for being more physically fit. http://www.acsm.org/

Massachusetts Eating Disorder Association Numerous links to additional eating disorder websites can be found by clicking "What is the next step?" http://www.medainc.org/

CHF Patients.com A comprehensive site dedicated to the condition of Congestive Heart Failure. Especially useful are the links to low sodium cooking techniques and the numerous low to lower sodium recipes. http://www.chfpatients.com/

DLife.com A comprehensive resource for those individuals lifing with or interested in diabetes. Provides links to a variety of educational publications and other sites that focus on diabetes care and research. http://www.dlife.com/

SurgeonGeneral.com Nestled within this site is a comprehensive section regarding bone health and osteoporosis. Click Public Health Priorities and then follow the relevant link (Bone Health and Osteoporosis) to Full Report. Chapter 7 of the report has detailed information about many nutrients impacting bone health. http://www.surgeongeneral.gov/

Back to top

Food Specifics

Grains Nutrition Information Center Sure, you eat grains, but are they the right type? The average American doesn't eat even one whole-grain item a day! Find out why you should in the "Nutrition Information" and "Grains Information" sections. http://www.wheatfoods.org/

5-a-Day If someone asked if you were eating 5-a-day, would you know what they were talking about? Learn about the national "5-a-day for better health" program at this kid-friendly website. Includes easy ways to get 5-a-day into your kid - or you for that matter! Includes links to helpful related sites - learn about what produce is in season, when and where. http://www.5aday.org/

Massachusetts Farmers' Markets Learn about what fresh produce is available to you locally, from Farmer's Markets to self-pick farms. An abundance of information at your fingertips. www.state.ma.us/dfa/massgrown/farmers_markets.htm

Back to top

Supplements

National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) Section for consumers and practitioners includes fact sheets, and access to CAM databases in PubMed. http://www.nccam.nih.gov/

Herbalgram.org American Botanical Council in conjunction with the Herb Research Foundation publishes quarterly reports on research appearing in peer-reviewed journals. http://www.herbalgram.org/

Micronutrient Information Center Linus Pauling Institute, Oregon State University. http://osu.orst.edu/dept/lpi/infocenter/index.html

HerbMed A free, interactive electronic database put out by the Alternative Medicine Foundation, Inc. Lists subheadings under each herb such as: clinical trials, observation/case reports, adverse events and toxicity, contradictions, interactions, etc. Links you directly to pubmed or clinical trials.gov where applicable. http://www.herbmed.org/

ConsumerLab An organization that collects quality data about popular supplements and reports on the accuracy of their labeling. Also provides good background information about the classes of supplements being tested. The more detailed portion of this site is now fee-based, however there is still some free information available. www.consumerlab.com

Back to top

Food Safety

Food Safety Project Practical advice for every household. Includes sections on food irradiation, current hot topics, and 10 steps to a safe kitchen. www.extension.iastate.edu/foodsafety

FDA Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition Get the FDA's stance on the safety of just about any product out there. Also, check out recent news and press releases. This is a large, fairly complex site; use the internal search engine for maximum efficiency. Food Safety Website: Here you will find food safety advice organized by food category - meat eggs, fruits, etc. In the hot topics section, read articles on the controversial subjects of food irradiation, pesticide use, and food additives. http://ncsu.edu/foodscience/extension_program/programs.html

Back to top