Eating For Health

Everyone says to “eat healthy” but many people aren’t quite sure what this means.   To some it means Pop Tarts and Sunny D as these foods are “fortified” with vitamins.   But they are not really healthy foods as they are full of sugar, white flour and few nutrients.   Eating healthy means including nutrient dense foods in your daily diet.   Not exclusively, as we all like our treats.    But our meals and many of our snacks should be focused on nutrient dense foods.    The January 2015 edition of Environmental Health had an excellent article, Make your Diet More Nutrient-Dense.   The American Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics refers to these foods as nutrient-rich foods. What are nutrient-rich or nutrient-dense foods?   These foods contain the most nutrients per calorie.   Usually they are the least processed foods and foods not diluted with a lot of added sugar or added fat. What foods are considered nutrient-rich? Whole grains - are rich in nutrients as the many vitamins

     MSN had a great article on How to Stay Slim During the Holidays.   Then I read a great suggestion about High Intensity Interval Training or HIIT.           1.   Break up Your Exercise – yes, you are supposed to exercise an hour a day but it doesn’t have to be an hour all at once.    It can be 10 minutes here, fifteen minutes there.   Park your car far from the front door, go up and down the stairs a few extra times.   Go for a 15 minute walk if you don’t have time for a longer walk.         2.   Exercise with a friend – more fun to go for a walk or to the gym with a friend.             4.   Dance to some holiday music – dancing is great exercise and can burn off some calories.         3.    HIIT – Geralyn Coopersmith, global director of performance and fitness training at NIKE, Inc.  recommends HIIT. (BHG.com).  She notes that this type of training burns more calories and more fat.   A study of women working out 3 times a week, 20 minutes at a time using HIIT, bur

Who doesn’t love the holidays with freshly baked cookies, eggnog, boxes of chocolates given as gifts and food buffets galore?   So how does one eat their way through the holidays without gaining 10 pounds?   The Washington Post provided some helpful guidelines in their 5 ways to fight the winter holiday bulge .          1.    Holiday Party - beverages - stay hydrated   Eat something before you go – don’t get to the party starving as you will then overeat.   Try some salad and some protein so you won’t be over hungry at the start of the party.      If cocktails, other alcoholic drinks are offered, have a drink or two.   But alcohol can affect your judgment and then affect how much you eat.   Rebecca Scritchfield, R.D. suggests alternating alcoholic drinks with regular beverages such as sparkling water.   Having ice water is another way to stay hydrated at a party.          2.   Buffets Go over the lineup of food and decide what you really want to eat.   Treating yoursel