Eating For Health

     The Food and Drug Administration announced new calories rules for restaurants.   This is part of the Affordable Care Act.   So what will be changing?           1.          Chain restaurants (those with 20 or more locations), pizza parlors, movie theaters will be required to post calories on their menus.          2.        Beverages on Menus – calorie content of beverages, including alcohol will be posted but not for mixed drinks at a bar.          3.        Grocery stores – buying a sandwich or a salad for yourself, then the calories will be noted.     Buying a rotisserie chicken or other item designed to a number of people and the calories need not be noted.           4.        Convenience stores like 7-Eleven will need to post calories counts on prepared food meant to be eaten by one person.           5.        What type of foods will be labeled?          a.        Meals from sit-down restaurants.          b.       Food purchased at drive-through windows    

So much good information is coming out about coffee that some health professionals are wondering if they should recommend coffee for good health.   So what are some of these great health benefits and how much do you need to drink to get these benefits?   Health Benefits of Coffee      Reduced risk of many diseases including cardiovascular (heart) disease, dementia, Parkinson’s disease, stroke and type 2 diabetes – all these benefits for just drinking coffee. Reduced risk of skin cancer - about 3 cups of coffee a day reduced risk of skin cancer Reduced risk of depression , at least in women – 2-3 cups a day, helped lift one’s mood according to a Harvard University Research study Why is drinking coffee healthy?   Phytochemicals – coffee contains more of the phenolic phytochemical than tea or red wine, other phytochemicals in coffee are flavanols Antioxidants – these prevent damage to the cells in your body.   Coffee provides these beneficial antioxidants. Minerals