Eating For Health

In the middle of the afternoon, do you feel tired and need an energy boost?    Are you full of energy in the morning and then by late afternoon, a nap sounds good?   Are there foods you can eat to help you maintain your energy throughout the day?    Or is there a food that will give you an afternoon pick up of energy when you need it? Men’s Health had a great article on Foods That Fight Off an Afternoon Slump .   Their suggestions: Green Tea – yes, skip the energy drink and have a cup of tea?   How can that energize you?   Tea offers not only caffeine but also theanine.   These will improve your reaction time; help your creativity and even your ability to multitask.   Rather than the caffeine jitters, cups of coffee might give you, green tea has a more calming effect.   (See more about the health effects of green tea in my blog post, Boost Your Health with Green Tea, 2-2-14). Almonds – I’ve written about the health benefits of a handful of nuts before.   Try a handful of al

Too many Americans are couch potatoes.   Not just sitting or lying on the couch but sitting and being sedentary for a good portion of the day.   In my recent nutrition class, we talked about overweight children.   A number of studies have shown overweight children don’t necessarily eat more than their peers but they do sit more than their peers and get much less exercise.   Not only is exercise beneficial to our health in many ways, it may actually reduce our risk of cancer and reduce inflammation.   An article in Environmental Nutrition notes, “Regular physical activity seems to reduce chronic low-grade inflammation that can lead to DNA damage and promotes unhealthy cell growth that can lead to cancer.”   (Cancer-fighting plant foods ) More physical exercise lowers our risk of a number of cancers. But one can’t just exercise for 30 minutes and then sit the rest of the day.   Studies have also shown sitting too much seems to negate some of the benefit of our exercise.   So

The World Health Organization created quite a stir recently when they announced we should cut our added sugar intake to only 5% of our daily calories ( WHO | Draft Guideline: Sugars intake for adults and children ).     Sounds easy?   Not really as manufacturers sneak added sugar into almost every food we eat.   The WHO focused on all sugars, but in this blog I will focus on ADDED sugar, what manufacturers add in processing.   Added sugars are n ot sugars naturally present in foods like fructose in an apple or lactose in milk.    So what did the WHO propose and why?   Currently, WHO recommends added sugars should make up less than 10% of our daily calories. WHO Draft guidelines:   Sugar should be less than 10% of our total calories with even more health benefits if we reduce sugars to less than 5% of our daily calories. What is 5%?    This means reducing our sugars to about 25 grams a day or 6 teaspoons for adults.   Most of us enjoy our sugary treats whether it is Gi

Can you lose weight and keep it off?   Many people are able to lose weight and then maintain that loss while others gain back every pound they lost and more.   So what is the secret to weight loss success?   Two researchers established a National Weight Control Registry in 1994, Drs. Wing and Hill.   They have tracked 10,000 people who have lost weight and kept it off.   On the average this group has lost 66 pounds and kept the weight off for 5 years.   Have you lost 30 pounds or more and kept it off for at least a year?   Are you over 18 years of age?   Then you could join the weight loss registry at:   www.nwcr.ws .   Or visit the web site to read about their success stories . So what are the Weight Loss Success Secrets?   Breakfast – those who started their day with breakfast were better able to keep the weight off.   Of those who were successful in losing weight and keeping it off, 78% were breakfast eaters.   Why?   Those who eat breakfast make better food choices