Query That Rocked for Better Health & Living Magazine
Here’s a query that landed an assignment with Better Health & Living Magazine (which is sadly now defunct). Notice how I included research and quotes, but gave only quick explanations of each tip. In the article itself, I went into greater detail on the research and the advice.
My article idea was originally called “Choose Without Losing,” but as I developed the query I hit upon the “food fight” theme, which helped me craft a fun lede. [lf]
Food Fight
If a Red Delicious and a Golden Delicious apple had it out on the health front, who would reign victorious? What if a Cabernet Sauvignon slugged it out with a Pinot Noir?
Every nutritional choice you make affects your health — even if the choice is as seemingly innocuous as the ones above. And some decisions you thought were keeping you healthy, such as choosing soy fudge bars over Fudgesicles, may be doing you more harm than good.
In “Food Fight,” I’ll pit foods against one another in a fun, easy-to-read format to help readers make the best choices when it comes to their health. For example:
The Fight: Red Delicious vs. Golden Delicious apple
The Winner: Red Delicious
Sure, an apple a day might keep the doctor away — but eat the *right* kind of apple and you just might scare off the doc for even longer. According to a Canadian study, Red Delicious, Northern Spy, and Ida Red apples pack more of an antioxidant punch than other types of apples.
The Fight: Fudgesicle vs. Organic Soy Delicious Creamy Fudge Bar
The Winner: Fudgesicle
Ye good old fashioned Fudgesicle has only 90 calories and 2 grams of fat; the more healthfully-named Organic Soy Delicious Creamy Fudge Bar weighs in at 151 calories and 4.3 grams of fat.
The Fight: Pinot Noir vs. Cabernet Sauvignon
The Winner: Pinot Noir
Red wine contains phenolic substances that protect the heart — and Pinot Noir beats out all other types of wine when it comes to these protective substances, says Pamela Douglas, MD, president of the American College of Cardiology and author of Cardiovascular Health and Disease in Women.
The Fight: Dollar store vitamins vs. name brand
The Winner: Name brand
In Consumer Reports’ February 2006 report on vitamins, every dollar store brand failed the test when it came to the amounts of vitamins they contained and their potency.
The Fight: Green vs. black tea
The Winner: Green
According to a study published in the journal Nutrition and Cancer, “there is more conclusive evidence for the chemopreventive effect of green tea compared with black tea,” meaning that green tea protects against cancer better than black tea.
The Fight: White potato vs. sweet potato
The Winner: Sweet potato
White potatoes do offer more vitamin C, says Krieger — but sweet potatoes contain more vitamin A as well as more fill-you-up fiber.
When your readers are choosing food at the supermarket or in a restaurant, they want to make sure that they’re getting the best health bang for their buck. “Food Fight” won’t disappoint them. May I write this article for you?
I’ve written for on health, nutrition, and wellness for Natural Health, Oxygen, USA Weekend, Fitness, Maximum Fitness, and other magazines. Thanks for taking the time to consider my idea, and I look forward to hearing from you!
Cheers,
Linda
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Aug 19, 2010 Query letters
Hi Linda,
Thanks for sharing this. I would never think to use the format you plan to in an article (I’ve always done 3 short paragraph queries), or to incorporate research and quotes. It’s great because it shows you’ve really done your homework – I can imagine why you landed the gig!
I think I’ll try this out next time.