Eating For Health

Eating healthy isn’t hard, one just had to reduce the amount of processed food and focus more on fruits, vegetables and whole grains.   But what is processed food?   The Berkeley Wellness Letter (January 2016) outlined the various levels of “processed”.   Usually, the less processed the food, the better for your health.   Foods can range from highly processed to minimally processed.   Some processing is actually healthy for you.   For example, pasteurized milk is processed to kill the harmful bacteria so this is a good form of “processed” food.   Highly Processed Foods – For many of us, highly processed foods comprise up to 63% of our calories.   That is too much processed foods.   These are foods so full of processed ingredients they are no longer recognizable as being from a plant or animal source.   Some examples:                 Hot dogs, margarine, most baked goods, ice cream, candies.                    Also, snacks like Cheetos, Cheez-Its, Goldfish are highly processe

What are “gut bugs” you might ask?   Last week we talked about E. Coli and how these “bugs” can make you sick.   But you also have good “bugs” or bacteria in your gut.   And guess what?   You need to feed this good bacteria.   They are now finding that having good bacteria in your gut has huge health benefits.   As Dr. Oz and Dr. Roizen said in a recent article, the next time “you open the fridge, remember that you’re not eating just for one.   You’re also feeding the 100 trillion bacteria that call your digestive system home.”    (    By feeding these good gut bacteria you can: Help control your weight Promote heart health Stabilize blood sugar levels Improve your immune system Improve your mood So what can you do to feed your gut bugs and reap these health benefits? Probiotics – eating a yogurt a day is a good start.   Yogurt has probiotics which helps put the good bugs in your gut. Fiber rich plant foods – go for the whole grain breads, cereals and foods like Qu