Eating For Health

We try to eat well, we think we are getting all the nutrients we need. But are we?   WebMD recently had an article on the 7 nutrients missing in American diets.   Here are 2 of those 7 nutrients.   Calcium     – everyone knows we need calcium for strong bones and teeth.   But calcium has many important roles to play in our bodies.    Calcium helps our muscles function, and is needed for your heart rhythm.    It also may help prevent high blood pressure.   Dairy foods like milk and yogurt are great sources of calcium and provide us with much needed vitamin D.    It is vitamin D that helps our bodies absorb the calcium in foods.   Read more about calcium at:   http://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/Calcium-HealthProfessional/ .   Milk and yogurt are not only good sources of calcium but also of another missing nutrient, vitamin D.   Cheese – great source of calcium but not usually fortified with vit...

Why is Vitamin D Gaining so Much Public Attention? By Melissa Mackey      Today vitamin D deficiency is an unfortunate problem rising in many young children.   Children in today’s times do not drink as much milk and eat foods that have vitamin D, nor do they go outside and play as much.   Children are drinking more fruit drinks, sodas, watching T.V. and playing video games.   But doctors have found that children are in much need of vitamin D and that it is an extremely important vitamin.   Vitamin D not only helps build strong bones, but it also been found to increase the body’s immune system.   According to healthychildren.org, “A vitamin D deficiency can lead to rickets, a bone-softening disease that continues to be reported in the United States mostly in children in the first two years of life.”   Some say the children should take a vitamin D supplement, but it is also very important for children to get more outside play, a...

       We try to eat well; we think we are getting all the nutrients we need. But are we?   WebMD recently had an article on the 7 nutrients missing in American diets.   In my last post, I focused on potassium and magnesium.   Two other nutrients missing in the American diet are:                Vitamin A – hard to believe anyone in America can be lacking vitamin A because so many foods are such a rich source of vitamin A or its precursor, Beta Carotene.   What does vitamin A do for us?   Good vision for one.   One of the first signs of a vitamin A deficiency is having trouble seeing in a darkened room.   It helps prevent illnesses by giving us a healthy immune system and it helps tissue growth and gives us healthy skin.   Beta carotene is one of many antioxidants in foods and as such protects our cells from daily damage.   When students ask me what...

We try to eat well, we think we are getting all the nutrients we need. But are we?   WebMD recently had an article on the 7 nutrients missing in American diets.   Here are 2 of those 7 nutrients.   <   Potassium – there is so much focus on sodium.   Almost everyone knows we get too much sodium in our diets.   But many of us fail to realize we need potassium.   If more of us had enough potassium in our diets, it could negate some of the negative consequences of all the sodium we eat.   Sodium is linked to higher blood pressure levels, but potassium has the opposite effect, leading to healthier blood pressure levels.   We also need potassium for our nerve and muscle function.   We can we get the potassium we need: Dark leafy greens – like spinach Baked potatoes Dried apricots Baked acorn squash Yogurt Fish – salmon Bananas Mushrooms <   Magnesium – When food manufacturers process wheat and...

What are “mid-calorie” foods and are they of any health benefit?     Should we even bother to pay extra for cookies and other goodies in calorie reduced packages?   Many of us have tried reduced calorie, low calorie foods that have few calories but also little taste.   Some manufacturers are trying to lower calories but not lower taste.    These new products are termed “mid-calories” as they are not necessarily low calorie but less calories than the full fat, full sugar version.   Ice Cream – who doesn’t like ice cream?   Dreyer’s is rolling out ice cream with less fat and thus less calories.    This “slow churned” brand has half the fat and 1/3 the calories of their regular ice cream.   Yes, some fat but less calories and more taste than fat free ice cream.   On the other hand, having a package of cookies around might mean we eat the whole package.            ...